I am quite busy, so showing up out of the blue like this puts me in a difficult spot ……

No, that’s not what I meant.

I have things to say to them as well, so I shall join you.

Though I must say, how many times have we gone there together now?

Rumors have spread within the manor. They say I often leave the estate in another’s company.

You see …… They believe I found a partner …… of the romantic …… sort.

D-D-Don’t be foolish!! I don’t feel that way either!!

T-Teenagers should not tease adults!!

…… Of course, I have taken measures to keep my lady in the dark. There is no need to worry.

I’m going to take a few moments to clean the area …… and, you’re not listening, are you?

Good grief. The way you go into your own world while concentrating is the splitting image of my lady. Today may take hours.

………… Finished?

Yes. Leave it as it is. I shall take care of it later.

If I may ask, what did you talk about? Today was much longer than usual.

Me? I asked for the same thing I always do. Surely, you’re aware.

Oh ……? You asked for personal guidance?

That’s rare.

Although …… Yes. I believe I can relate.

It’s much easier to discuss sensitive topics with those two than with other people.

Venting grievances that you would prefer others not hear or, on the other hand, speaking of the far-off dreams that would make others laugh if they heard ……

So, how did it go? Did they give you an answer?

What?

A new strategy to develop?

Heh …… You never fail to surprise.

Why am I smirking? Because, well, I’ve never heard of that before.

I hate fiction for the most part. They’re not productive. It’s hard to see them as anything but a waste of time because of how little I get out of reading them.

But for some reason, adults seem to think girls like fairy tales and try to give them lots and lots of picture books.

Thin books, decorated with stories as sweet as cake and sparkly illustrations.

It’s always the same. There’s a princess who falls in love with a prince, but some evil witch gets in their way and they have to overcome it to get married in the end.

These books get crammed full of too many things adults think girls like.

Like castles, chariots, rings and glass slippers and poison apples, dwarves and wolves, weddings …… and kisses.

None of these interests me at all.

Actually, I find them revolting.

I hate being treated like a child in the first place. I’m not a child anymore.

Although, there was one story I did like.

The Little Mermaid.

I’m sure you already know, but the story goes like this.

A mermaid princess falls in love with a human prince and goes to a sorceress for help in hopes that her feelings may someday reach him.

However, the sorceress demands a high price for turning the mermaid princess into a human.

That price ……

It was her voice.

Although the mermaid princess becomes human, she can’t convey her feelings to the prince without it.

Then, well, there is a big fuss.

As for the ending …… The original ended on a sad note, but the animated movie had a happy ending.

Even the first version I read, one written for children, was changed to have a happy ending.

Adults must think children can’t handle a mournful conclusion. Not only does the princess have her heart broken, she turns into nothing but bubbles in the original. Very depressing. Out of all the fairy tales in the world, it might be one of the heaviest emotionally.

But the ending doesn’t matter.

What matters is what the story teaches us. It has so much more meaning than the ending.

Something must be sacrificed in order to gain something else.

I think this is a very realistic moral.

The mermaid princess gave up her voice to become human.

Marrying the prince would be impossible without becoming human (admittedly not impossible but highly unlikely without the prince having a condition far worse than a Lolita complex), so her actions were necessary.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t complete what she set out to do because she lost the only means she had of telling him how she felt.

It’s similar to Shogi in that you can protect your King by deploying pieces from your piece stand, but you lose your best weapon at the same time. In the end, it could cost you the match.

Then what should the mermaid princess have done?

I have no idea, nor have I given it any thought.

Why should I? I’ll never fall in love with a prince.

I only have Shogi. So, my story from here on out will be about Shogi.

No sparkly illustrations like in the picture books. It will be a story of guts and grit, a clash of resilience. A tragic, bloody story of Snow White and Cinderella trying to kill each other with their bare hands.

I wish for you to stay with it to the end.

“Agreed,” Crown Yo Okito answers bluntly.

In that moment–––the fifth match in the King Title Match ended with a second stalemate.

Now 2 a.m., the two-day title match format had extended into day three, and the players’ exhaustion was palpable.

“…………”

Overwhelmed by the intensity emanating from the two titleholders, the observer and match recorder could only sit and stare at them from the boardside table after making the stalemate official.

Unkempt stubble dotted the players’ ghostly faces. Only their eyes blazed with life.

Both Kings had been firmly entrenched deep in their opponent’s territory and a truly bizarre number of Promoted Pawns covered the board in a match that went well beyond 300 moves.

Telltale signs of a stalemate, distinctive formations of the lengthy matches that exceeded the standard and broke into chaos.

“………… Another draw ……,” association staff uneasily whispered amongst themselves as they entered the arena.

“It’s hard to believe both matches lasted nearly 400 moves and there still isn’t a clear winner …… That’s nearly 1,000 moves for one victory star. Can you believe it?”

“How long is this title match going to take ……?”

“The aura coming out of Mr. Oishi is incredible. The Worldly Maestro’s second face was out right at the start, the one called Tenacious Maestro……”

“I’ve gotta say that his tenacity was something else, coming back after everyone thought Okito would take the title in a sweep after three straight wins. But–––.”

“Yeah, even more than that–––.”

The staff was in agreement.

Something else was sending waves through the Shogi world.

Facing the moment of truth in the fourth match after three losses, Mitsuru resorted to the unthinkable and used a Static Rook strategy.

Blindsided by the sudden change to a Double Static Rook Shogi match, Yo was overwhelmed by Mitsuru’s onslaught from start to finish.

The fourth match became Mitsuru’s first victory.

“We weren’t the only ones in shock. I’ve never seen Okito-sensei look so surprised ……”

“It’s still hard to believe the Crown, a guy who plays like a machine, got so far behind that he surrendered before lunch on the second day ……”

“You think that was because he used Static Rook in the first fifth match stalemate and in the rematch held the day after …… Has Mr. Oishi given up on Ranging Rook?”

“No way! …… But maybe he’s thinking Ranging Rook doesn’t stand a chance against Mr. Okito ……”

“Don’t you mean against Shogi software ……?”

“I can’t deny that ……”

“Those opening formations look like something straight off the computer screen ……”

“Yaichi Kuzuryu said something like the yagura is dead, didn’t he? Could Mr. Oishi be thinking along those lines for Ranging Rook ……?”

“The real irony is his winning percentage went up in other matches once he stopped using Ranging Rook …… The writing might be on the wall ……”

“Really, the guy that’s got so much pride he turns down practice sessions with real people left and right ……?”

“I bet he’s willing to throw that pride away to protect his title ……”

“But Mr. Oishi’s holding strong. Don’t forget, Mr. Okito’s winning percentage in other matches has fallen off. He even missed his chance to challenge the Meijin ……”

“Doesn’t that show that Mr. Okito’s willing to sacrifice everything else to claim the King title ……?”

“He’s …… stubborn like that.”

Today’s arena was originally intended for the seventh and final match, but instead it was used for the rematch of the fifth match’s rematch.

This was unknown territory.

The staff member in charge of scheduling had his head in his hands as he communicated with the Shogi Association. Meanwhile, Mitsuru and Yo stayed completely silent, sitting at the board without conducting any sort of review session whatsoever–––.

A young beauty adorned in a kimono lowered her head. Members of the media came pouring into the Kanto Shogi Association’s special arena located in Sendagaya, Tokyo a moment later.

Then, every single camera lens was directed at the lower seat.

The Mynavi Women’s Open Finals, the match to determine the Challenger was over.

Victory had been claimed in the most formal match in all of Women’s Shogi by the one sitting in the lower seat, by a girl so small she was too young to be considered an adolescent.

A mere 10-year-old.

The soon-to-be fifth-grader sat up straight, her chin raised ever so slightly in triumph as she looked down upon Machi Kugui-Queen Yamashiro Ouka’s surrender.

It was such a shock to behold that the avalanche of journalists stopped to hold their collective breath.

“The one who was just crowned an Eternal Queen, the top of the Women’s Shogi world, defeated by a child ……!”

Machi played the match wearing a kimono, simultaneously showing her determination and putting her pride as a title holder on the line. She had not taken her opponent lightly, that much was certain.

People whispered among themselves, trying to process what had just happened.

“That girl, she was an amateur four months ago, right ……?!”

“The Yamashiro Ouka Title Match was just a few days ago, so maybe Ms. Kugui was still feeling the effects?”

“Even so, that girl will be the youngest challenger ever!! What’s more, being the challenger is an instant promotion to Women’s League 2-dan–––.”

“Women’s 2-dan at only 10 years old …… It’s Cinderella come to life!”

“So, the youngest female title holder ever, Ginko Sora, will face the youngest challenger in history …… What a story!”

“Kobe’s Cinderella and Naniwa’s Snow White will play against each other after all ……”

“Sounds like a fairy tale …… It doesn’t feel real at all ……”

Camera flashes went off in a vigorous rush.

Player interviews began once the match journalist made it through the throng of reporters and sat down at the boardside table.

When the girl who was just promoted all the way to 2-dan by default, Ai Yashajin was asked how she felt during the match, she responded, “…… Never once …… did I think I wouldn’t win.”

She answered, her voice understandably weak.

But she grew steadier by the moment and took the journalist by surprise yet again with answers far beyond what the average elementary school girl would say.

She hadn’t been told how to respond.

They were all her words, her own thoughts.

As proof, an association staff member was filling in as her guardian instead of her Master, Ryuo Yaichi Kuzuryu.

Yaichi had been unable to make the trip to Tokyo because of his own league match, but Ai preferred it this way. Having a source of support that close would be comforting, which would in turn leave an opening for her opponent. Even at 10 years old, she understood that.

“Ms. Kugui! Ms. Yamashiro Ouka! Questions please!!”

Drawn in by the magnitude of this developing story, a female reporter from a local news station with a high-pitched voice unbefitting of a Shogi press conference pressed Machi for an interview as if trying to build up the drama.

“If I may be frank, were you overconfident sitting across from such a young opponent?!”

“…… I committed myself fully to each move as to prevent that from occurring.”

“But, she’s 10!! Do you think you’d normally lose to a 10-year-old?!”

“Yashajin 2-dan already possesses skill worthy of a top-class Women’s League player. A simple glance at the match record will prove her as such. This result was a product of said skill.”

“Oh, I see. Then–––.”

Realizing that Machi wouldn’t take the bait no matter how hard she prodded, the reporter changed her angle.

“You have faced Queen Ginko Sora in the past, Ms. Kugui. What do you think Ms. Yashajin’s chances are against her, plain and simple?!”

“Her chances?”

Machi flicked her fan open and covered her mouth as she spoke.

“Sora-Dual Title has risen to the rank of Sub League 3-dan. A vast divide of unfathomable depth separates her from the likes of us Women’s League players. The unfathomable cannot be explained in such terms …… Wouldn’t you agree?”

Words cannot properly portray the flash that came from Machi’s eyes with those last words.

“Gasp ……”

It finally dawned on the reporter that she was trying to pry answers out of the woman known as Machi the Tormentor, which was the equivalent of stepping on a carnivore’s tail. Head down, she slid back into the media cluster.

Machi Kugui acted as though she had already put the loss behind her, but there was no way being defeated by a 10-year-old in elementary school wasn’t tearing her apart on the inside.

Keep this orderly. Otherwise, I’ll slay you where you stand.

The aura emanating from her eyes made that message all too clear.

“I’m here for the Kobe Sannomiya Newspaper. If I may ask you a few things, Miss Yashajin–––.”

As the chaotic mob of media fell silent, a man sent from Ai Yashajin’s hometown of Kobe posed the press conference’s final question.

“The stage is set for you to play against Sora-Queen, who also happens to be your Master, Yaichi Kuzuryu’s elder sister apprentice. Will it be difficult to face her, as both of you are members of the Kiyotaki Shogi family?”

“That doesn’t matter at all. I’ve never thought about it.”

Her response was instantaneous.

“Besides, even if I did feel uncomfortable, all I’d have to do is take a different Master.”

“……!!”

The very idea of changing Master was so close to taboo in the Shogi world that it sent chills up the spines of every adult in the room. The girl who said it, however, couldn’t have been calmer. She was completely serious.

Kobe’s Cinderella kept that same tone as she continued.

“I don’t care what methods I have to use, what sacrifices I have to make, that title will be mine. That’s all there is to it.”

Right after receiving that announcement, I –––Yaichi Kuzuryu got an even more unbelievable message.

“Akira!”

Kobe, Nada Ward.

Racing toward a manor built like a fortress at the base of Mount Rokkou, I call out to a woman dressed in a sharp, black suit.

That woman–––Akira Ikeda lowers her head in a remorseful bow and says, “…… My apologies, Kuzuryu-sensei. Summoning you here when you have matches to attend to–––.”

“That’s not a big deal! What I want to know is why you didn’t tell me before!!”

“………… By his request.”

Akira leads me inside …… I follow her toward the back of the building where the lord of the manor surely awaits.

A few steps behind her, I whisper in a quiet voice, “So …… What’s his condition?”

“Dire.”

“……!!”

A cold chill runs through my veins. I came here prepared for the worst, but it’s so much harder to keep it together now that I’m here.

“…… Have you told Ai?”

“How could I possibly inform my lady?!!”

Almost screaming, I see a look of Oh no! pass across her face before she clamps both hands down over her mouth.

She and I look up and down the hall in a panic, but luckily Ai Yashajin isn’t here. I guess she’s not back from Tokyo yet.

Akira lowers her voice and says, “…… My lady is still very young. To make matters worse, she must prepare for a very important title match. The world is watching her every move. I cannot allow the burden she bears to increase any further.”

“I’m sorry. Yes, you’re right.”

That was …… pathetic of me. I may be the Dragon King Ryuo, I may be talented or whatever, but Shogi is powerless at times like this. The feeling of absolute control I have in front of a board is nothing but an illusion. That’s painfully obvious right now ……

“Are you ready? You must act as if nothing is amiss, understood?”

“Yes.”

Standing in front of the lord’s room, Akira issues a warning. I nod, fully prepared.

“Kuzuryu-sensei has come to see you.”

Then, once she slides the door open–––.

“K-Kuzuryu …… Sensei ……”

…… There’s a bedridden old man with tubes sticking out all over his body and one foot in the grave lying there.

With his eyes sunken in and face deathly pale, there isn’t a trace of the killer instinct that radiated out of the man I first met at S&M author Dan Onizawa’s house last year.

He’s …… as good as ……

“Forgive me for my long absence.”

I suppress my emotions exactly the same way I do before a match, force a smile and give the old man a proper greeting.

Honestly, I didn’t think I could pull off a smile.

“My …… most sincere …… apologies …… for this …… sight ……”

Ai Yashajin’s grandfather struggles to get words out between labored breaths and then points to the room next door.

“A-Akira ……… T-T-That ……”

“At once.”

Akira kneels on the tatami mat in front of another sliding door and opens it.

It slides away to reveal–––.

“……!! A-Ai?!”

What’s Ai doing here?! Wouldn’t seeing her grandfather like this be a real shock to her system?!

I’m on the verge of a heart attack, but Akira says in a calm voice.

“Relax, Sensei. It’s a doll.”

“O-Ohh …… A doll. ………… A doll?”

For a doll, it’s surprisingly detailed. The skin texture alone is so realistic it’s scary. Soft and squishy, just like the real thing. What is it made out of? Silicone?

Poking the cheeks and getting more and more impressed by the moment, Akira says, “Sensei. It’s not what’s beneath the clothing but the dress itself I wish for you to see.”

“The …… dress? This white one?”

Ai Yashajin always dresses in black clothes fit for a funeral, so even though this is a doll, it feels strange to see her in white …… But, there’s one thing I can tell at first glance.

The dress was made by a Master seamstress with the best fabric available. It’s truly a work of art.

Ai’s grandfather props himself up on his elbow and explains with a trembling voice, “I …… was hoping …… for Ai to wear one like this once she had grown up a bit more, but …… Cough! Cough! …… It seems …… I will not live …… to see …… that day ……”

Making it that far, he breaks out into a coughing fit.

“Doctor! Call the doctor in here!!”

Akira yells with desperation in her voice. Moments later, a man dressed in white with a large bag in his arms accompanied by a young woman in nurse’s clothing burst in from the other room and rush to the old man’s side, forcing him back down.

I watch it all happen from the side, powerless to do anything–––.

“Se …………”

“Se?”

Mr. Yashajin looks at me and tries to get something across to me with all his might. I lean down to put my ear right next to him.

“I want …… to see …………”

“See what?! What is it you want to see?! If you want to see Ai with the title of her own, I swear I’ll–––.”

“A-Ai, in that dress ……… with …… Kuzuryu-sensei …… the altar …… I want …… to see ……”

“The altar?”

Is that a title I don’t know about?

“The church’s altar, Sensei. A wedding ceremony.”

Wedding? Me …… and Ai?!

Mr. Yashajin’s not looking at me anymore, more like up at nothingness as he wheezes out more words between shallow breaths.

“A-Ai …… Isn’t this …… wonderful …… With Kuzuryu-sensei at your side …… I know …… There’ll be nothing …… to worry …… about ……”

“He’s hallucinating,” says the doctor urgently. Biting her lip, Akira rushes up to me.

“Kuzuryu-sensei!! There’s no time!!”

“I-I understand! What do you want me to do?!”

“There is a white tuxedo in the other room! Put it on and get back in here!!”

“Right away!!”

I stumble over my own feet getting my shirt and pants off, but I find the white suit and change in the blink of an eye before standing next to the Ai doll.

Amazingly, the suit fits me like a glove. I know this is just a coincidence, but I’m thankful to whatever god is up there for making this happen.

“Ahh ……! Ahhhhh ……!!”

The tiniest of sparks pops up in Mr. Yashajin’s eyes as they fill with tears.

What a relief …… This could be what he needs to pull through, and even if he doesn’t then he can pass on with no regrets ……!

“And now we shall unite the bride and groom in holy matrimony.”

Reading the situation, the doctor takes on the role of the priest.

I gotta say, the man can make calm decisions under intense pressure!! Even better, his white clothes aren’t too different from what a priest would wear!

“Yaichi Kuzuryu. Do you take Ai Yashajin to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and cherish her for as long as you both shall live?”

“I-I do!”

“Please, sign the certificate.”

Then, the nurse comes up to me holding what she’s pretending is a Certificate of Intent (actually Mr. Yashajin’s medical papers) and a pen.

Without so much as a second thought, I take the pen and write my name where she tells me.

Akira asks me, “Sensei. Do you have your official seal with you?”

“Ohh …… I’m sorry. I saw that you wanted me to bring it in your message, but I came straight here from the association. It’s still at home.”

“Tsk! Fine then. What about your professional stamp? You have that, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

Since Shogi players never know when someone will ask for an autograph, we always carry our stamps. Taking it out of my second bag, I make sure there’s plenty of ink on it before lining it up over the certificate–––.

Wait, hold up.

I was caught up in the moment, but …… Something about this seems off.

I take a closer look at the certificate (?) … medical paper (?) one more time.

What is this?

Surprisingly detailed for a fake wedding ……

“Hurry up, Sensei. Stamp it before it’s too late.”

“H-hold on a second, Akira! This is just an act, right? We’re not performing an actual wedding right now, are we? In that case, I can just act like I’ve stamped it ……”

“Yes, this is just pretend. Which means you could stamp it with your official seal. Yes?” says Akira as she takes hold of my arm with both hands and pulls it closer to the certificate.

With quite a bit of strength.

“T-That’s true, but …… Something isn’t right about this. I know that a good act is in the details, but don’t you think actually stamping a certificate is too far–––?”

“Make him stamp it, Akiraaaaaaaaa!!”

Clatter! Snap, snap, snap, snap!!

Mr. Yashajin bursts out of the bed, breaking free of all the tubes connected to his body at once.

“Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

He’s just fine!!

“Wha?! Huuh?! You were dying, I saw you?!”

“Akira! Why do you hesitate?! Force that stamp down!!”

“At once, sir!!”

Issuing orders, Mr. Yashajin turns his back on me and gets a boost from the bed springs to pull off a somersault wrestling move!

Old man, flying through the air with his arms wide like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Then–––.

“Gwah ……!!”

Coming down hard on my shoulders, I collapse under his weight.

The doctor and nurse, now out of their costumes, pile on. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.

“Seriously?! The nurse and the doctor too?! So, all of you are in on this?!”

All four of them are trying to get me to stamp that certificate!

I resist with all my might, but I’m only human.

Face down on the tatami mat, my inked-up stamp makes contact with the certificate and gets pressed down hard against my will.

“Agh! Damn! I stamped it ……”

“Yessss!!”

“So now I can …… Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

“Nooooo–––!!”

Letting them think they accomplished their mission made the four conspirators ease up for just a moment, and I use that opportunity to tear the certificate to shreds! Now this thing is void. I found the Reverse Check Path.

Then, I turn to Mr. Yashajin and Akira and scream, “You were pulling a fast one, weren’t you?!”

“Hah! Hah! Hah! I can still contend with the youth.”

“I was in charge of the makeup! Good, no?”

Sparkle! I ignore Akira triumphantly posing like a superhero with a makeup kit pinned between her fingers and instead ask a question to the person laughing so powerfully that it’s hard to believe he’s the same old man who was bedridden just moments ago.

“Why put on this stupid act in the first place?!”

“Because I will die one day, leaving my granddaughter completely alone.”

“……”

He said those heavy words with that smile still on his face. I don’t know what to say.

“I may be in good health for now, but that may not be the case next year. I am old. A sudden ailment could take me to the other side tomorrow and it wouldn’t be all that out of place. What will Ai do should that come to pass? Would you not take pity on her? Would you not welcome the girl who has no one else in the world into your family?”

“I would take care of her even without you going through these antics. I’m her Master.”

“…… Her Master, you say?”

“…… Sigh ……”

Both Mr. Yashajin and Akira are obviously not satisfied by that answer. What’s worse, even the people posing as a doctor and a nurse are giving me the same look ……

“…… Listen to me, okay?”

I take a deep breath and start explaining.

“Bonds between Master and apprentice in the Shogi world, especially in my Kiyotaki Shogi Family lineage, are considered stronger than bonds between actual siblings! I understand where you’re coming from when you say you’re worried, Mr. Yashajin, but Ai can support herself as a Women’s League player already and I’ll be there to support her even after she’s made a name for herself until the day I die. Even after I’m gone, my first apprentice Ai Hinatsuru will be there to support her more than a real sister would. Knowing that, are you still worried?!” Getting all that out in one breath, I quickly added, “And… Ai wouldn’t agree to it anyway. Marry me? Yeah right.”

“Are you certain? Surely, that’s impossible to know without asking her yourself.”

“Huuuh? You can’t be serious ……?”

Maybe Ai says good things about me when she’s here at home? Because whenever she’s with me it’s moron or trash or whatever name she wants to call me that day.

I hate you! You piece of trash! You stupid Master! I hate, hate, hate …… Love you! Marry me!!

Could that actually happen? I’ve heard of having a warm heart beneath a cold shell, but damn ……

“It matters not. Asking her directly will solve this.”

Now that I know Mr. Yashajin is just fine, I don’t have to tread lightly anymore.

Taking off the white suit, I give him a piece of my mind.

“Yeesh! I get a message saying Ai’s grandfather is terminally ill not five minutes after my match finishes up and race over here from Osaka all for a bad comedy routine ……”

“Which reminds me, I haven’t congratulated you on today’s victory,” says Akira out of the blue.

“Kuzuryu-sensei, a most heartfelt congratulations on your four consecutive victories in the Crown League White Conference! I cannot wait to see you claim your second title!!”

“In that case, please don’t distract me! I’ll be helping Ai in her own title match any way that I can, but I’m extremely busy because I have my own matches to worry about, too!”

It’s hard enough thinking about who my next opponent is ……

Getting all that off my chest, I ask Akira, “So? What’s Ai doing right now?”

“Informing her parents of the upcoming title match.”

That was all I needed to hear.

I know exactly where she is and what she’s doing.

At this holy place where only those with permission may enter, I–––Ai Yashajin, feel the ocean breeze on my back.

“Father …… and mother. I’ve made it to the title match,” I say to the black stone in front of me.

It’s my parents’ gravestone.

They should be resting right beneath it.

I say should be …… because I never saw their remains being lowered into the earth with my own two eyes.

I was still quite young and didn’t fully understand the meaning of a funeral …… I didn’t fully comprehend that my parents had died.

All I knew was that the three of us would never sit around a Shogi board again.

When that finally clicked, only then did I start the process after what had happened. It was pure sorrow.

I sat down at a Shogi board by myself …… and started playing through father’s match records each day. Every time, I was hoping to hear his voice come from them as if he were still alive ……

“Father, I’m using your pieces.”

My Master, Yaichi, had a full set of Shogi pieces made at Shumai Honinbou’s workshop as a present to celebrate my becoming a Woman’s League player.

Those pieces were engraved with my deceased father’s handwriting taken from match records he wrote himself.

This was possible because Sub League member Hiuma Kagamizu 3-dan collected match records from when father was still alive.

I use those pieces for research now.

“It’s so easy to read your pieces, father …… My eyes never get tired no matter how long I play. I get so many ideas when I use them that it’s like you’re there watching me! If father were here, he would move this piece. It happens all the time!”

Then, I start explaining yesterday’s match as clearly as I can.

The Mynavi Women’s Open Challenger Match.

Because I want father to know about the Shogi I played.

“Machi Kugui was the most difficult opponent I have ever faced. The Bishop Head Pawn strategy I used against Ryou Tsukiyomizaka wouldn’t work on Machi the Tormentor …… But, surely you knew that, father? You know my Bishop Head Pawn’s weakness. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way to fix it yet …… The same is true for my struggles with Move-Loss Bishop Exchange. But! I should be able to use the Normal Bishop Exchange standards you taught me just fine! Plus, I have all the new variations that came to me when using your pieces, so–––.”

There was so much to say that an hour passes before I knew it.

Not again. This always happens when I come here.

“Mother. I’m sorry for only talking to Father. There was just so much I wanted to tell him about Shogi that I kept going on and on ……”

I give her a polite bow in my mind.

She was so gentle, kind and beautiful …… But also a little aloof, a woman who was always a little girl at heart.

“You always read me those picture books, remember? And I noticed how you always got a little grumpy whenever Father and I would start talking about Shogi.”

My parents met at a Shogi club at a university in Tokyo.

But honestly, mother was never all that strong of a player. I think it was because she didn’t love Shogi all that much.

I never had a chance to ask her when she was alive, but …… I’m almost certain she learned how to play Shogi so she could get close to father.

This is why she surrounded me with things girls are supposed to like when she had a daughter.

Picture books, pretty clothes, dolls to play house with.

I think she wanted me to be like one of the princesses from the fairy tales.

But it was Shogi that interested me.

Trapped between mother and father, it was Shogi that gave me an idea how to bridge the gap.

10 years ago …… A Women’s Title was set in place the same year I was born.

The first Women’s League player to ever claim that title wore jewelry worth millions of yen and a gorgeous dress when she was bestowed her title at the ceremony. The whole scene looked like it belonged in the pages of a fairy tale.

That title was––– Queen.

Reading about it in a Shogi magazine when I was little, I told my parents loud and clear, “I will be the Queen of Shogi!”

Father was overjoyed. Mother seemed to have mixed feelings at first, but we eventually came together as a family, smiling. My being bestowed the Queen title became our dream, all three of us.

How ironic!

The title within my reach is–––.

“Did you know? People call me Kobe’s Cinderella now. Funny, don’t you think? Me, Cinderella …… Does it make you happy, Mother?” I ask the black stone.

I get the feeling …… Mother is smiling right now. Just like she did back then.

“But, I’m still not interested in those picture book worlds. A princess meeting a prince, falling in love …… That world doesn’t matter to me.”

More to the point, I don’t understand how someone comes to love someone else.

Everyone else is my enemy.

That’s the world of competition and I love how cut-and-dried it is.

That’s why the romance thing escapes me.

There’s no point in learning about it.

“It’s not because I’m in elementary school. Moving on to junior high and high school …… I don’t see myself changing at all. Sorry ……”

I’ll probably get married eventually to carry on the family bloodline.

That’s my duty as a Yashajin.

I’ll follow through with it with the same determination as I do when I set out to win the match in front of me. I’ll have a husband someday and then a child as well.

But I just can’t see how that household would play out.

“………… Would I be able to live happily with a family if I were teaching Shogi ……?”

I wonder.

If I were asked if the Shogi world is a happy one, I think I would answer no.

If I were asked if it’s interesting, I would say yes in no time.

“Well, I’d better be on my way.”

It’s very relaxing here.

So much so that night can fall without me noticing.

That’s happened more than a few times in the past. I’d sneak out of the manor and come here by myself. Akira and the others then show up, frantically looking for me ……

But I don’t have time for that anymore.

“I’m sorry. I won’t be coming back for a while. It might be a little lonely until then, but please forgive me.”

I stand up and bow my head low.

I’m determined.

Until the Queen Title Match is over, I won’t be coming here. Without that level of commitment, I won’t be able to accomplish this daunting task.

I came here today to show my parents just how determined I am.

“The next time you see me, I will …… I will be the Queen. Our dream will come true.”

With that, I go back down the hill.

Never once looking back.

The breeze that gave me a push going up the hill is now blowing hard against me.

I’m waiting for a certain person to show up.

“Oh …… Hi there. It’s been a while ……”

“……………”

Popping up without a sound right behind where I’m sitting at the counter, she stares down at me with those ash-colored eyes without saying a word.

Queen Ginko Sora.

The opponent Ai is about to face.

“We can go to the table in the corner if you want?”

“Here is fine.”

Big Sis sits down next to me at the counter but never once looks me in the eyes.

She is wearing street clothes.

Having graduated on March 1st, Big Sis stopped wearing her sailor-style school uniform wherever she goes (though she’s still technically treated like a junior high school student in the Shogi world until March 31th).

Recently, with all the attention she’s been getting, Big Sis has started wearing a baseball cap as a disguise quite a bit.

Also …… sometimes …… gulp sometimes …… She cosplays for me. I do feel guilty about that ……

She and I were getting together for practice sessions with King Mitsuru Oishi, but with the King Title Match heating up and all sorts of scheduling conflicts, those three-person practice sessions naturally got put on hold.

As a result, I haven’t seen Big Sis all that much these days.

We are siblings bound by Shogi.

There’s no doubt in my mind that we have the strongest sister/brother apprentice bond in the entire Shogi world.

But, on the flipside, that also means that we barely have any relationship at all without Shogi.

–––Which is why I needed a reason to invite her out like this ……

That reason was a phone call.

I was busy playing my own match when Ai Yashajin was fighting to become the Queen challenger, but the Shogi Association offices received two phone calls as soon as my match was over, like they’d been waiting just for that. One of the calls was Akira.

The second was from Keika.

After Mr. Mine, one of the association staff members, told me my apprentice was going to be playing in a title match I assumed that Keika was calling to talk about that. I picked up the phone, excited when ……

“Ah! Hi there, Keika!! Listen to this! Ai is going to be in the Queen Title Match! Did you already know?! How should we celebrate–––?”

“Yaichi. Talk with Ginko in person, right now.”

“Huh? Why? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until the title match is over? I mean, my apprentice is the challenger, so wouldn’t that be awkward–––?”

“That doesn’t matter. Just listen to me. You need to speak with Ginko face-to-face as soon as you possibly can. Also, give her present. It needs to be something special, something you wouldn’t give anyone else.”

“A present???”

I had no clue what she meant, but following her advice about Big Sis has never come back to bite me. So I decided to go along with it.

–––I just happened to have something I wanted to give her anyway ……

I reach into my pocket to make sure it’s still there.

Keika also said, “Are you listening, Yaichi? There’s one more important thing you should do.”

But …… I’ll talk about that later.

So, that’s why I invited Big Sis to meet me at the Kansai Shogi Association’s first floor restaurant, “Twelve.”

“……”

The ever-silent chef puts a menu down in front of Big Sis. That’s his way of saying to hurry up and order.

Neither of us bothered to open it as we say what we want.

“I’ll have the Extraordinary Pork Beauty A set. What about you, Big Sis?”

“Dynamite C Set.”

The two of us first came to this restaurant 11 years ago, so we have their whole menu memorized at this point. Big Sis has always gotten the Dynamite C Set. She never changes ……

Since the lunch rush is already over, the chef whips up our food in no time at all.

Putting our hands together in silence, we dig in.

“…………”

“…………”

A good amount of time goes by where the two of us concentrate solely on getting the food into our mouths. When the heck am I supposed to start talking ……?

It turns out that we finish eating and the chef takes our dishes back into the kitchen before I find the right timing.

“Big Sis. Um ……”

“What is it?”

“Well ………… You see ……”

“Well what? I haven’t got all day.”

“H …… Here!!”

I take her present out of my pocket and put it down on the counter.

It’s––––––a spare key to my apartment.

The same one that she hurled at me in a rage during the middle of the Ryuo Title Match …… and I haven’t been able to get back to her until right now.

“Isn’t it a lot harder to meet at the Gokigen Bath House with our practice sessions with Mr. Oishi being put off? Also, now that Master’s place is being used for the Kiyotaki Classroom, there’s always a lot of people there. I think my apartment would be the most convenient place for practice sessions …… don’t …… you ……?”

My words trail off toward the end.

Because, well, I can’t read her face …… at all ……

“So, I …… Um, I’d like …………… you to have this key, Big Sis ……,” I say with the key sitting on the counter. Hoping and hoping.

Big Sis says–––.

“I don’t need it.”

“……!”

In a cold, flat refusal.

Sharp pain slices through my heart. She doesn’t want to have practice sessions with me anymore …… That feels like she’s saying she’s fine with cutting our bond once and for all.

–––Should’ve figured …… Her opponent for the title match is my apprentice ……

But that wasn’t the case.

Rather than the key, Big Sis takes my hand and says, “Forget about that and follow me.”

“Huh?”

“Is …… this it? This apartment building?”

A newly built apartment complex along the riverside about a 15-minute walk away from the association.

“Big Sis? What are we doing here? Do you know someone who lives here?”

Ignoring my confusion, Big Sis goes inside the building without me. She then takes a key out of her pocket to open the inner auto-locking doors.

“Hurry up. Want to get locked out?”

“Wait for me!”

I trip over my feet in a rush and end up sliding through the doors just as they close behind me. From there, it was into the elevator and up to the eighth floor.

Starting to get a bit nervous, I follow Big Sis all the way down the hallway to–––.

“Room 801”

Stopping in front of the door, Big Sis uses her key to open it.

“Get inside. Hurry up.”

“S-Sure ……”

She ushers me through the door.

It’s a simple, one-room floor plan.

There’s almost nothing in here. All I see is a wireless LAN router and a tablet plugged into the wall to charge. Oh, and there’s a really beat-up book, too.

“So …… What is this place?”

“I bought it. For research.”

“You did?”

“With my saved-up prize money.”

She flat-out bought her own apartment at 15 years old ……

What’s more, a great location like this all for research …… Hm? Research?

“Research …… Big Sis, does that mean you’re not going to high school?” I ask, looking around the barren room.

The whole country wants to know whether or not Naniwa’s Snow White will enroll in high school but even I, her younger brother apprentice, haven’t been told of the answer.

“Yaichi. Here.”

“?!”

Rather than answering my question, she throws something at me. Surprised, I grab for it a few times before finally catching it.

“This is the spare key. It’s your job to clean this room when I’m not around.”

Whaaat ……?

“Well?”

“O-khay.”

She didn’t take my key because she already had this room …… Seeing the Silver Shogi piece keychain attached to the one that she tossed me both surprises me and lifts my spirits at the same time.

This proves that I’m not just anyone to her. Even if she thinks of me as a janitor.

“But, I’ve got to say …… There’s really nothing in here, is there?”

“I just bought it. And I don’t want there to be any distractions while I’m doing Shogi research.”

“I understand that, but wouldn’t having a table and some chairs be a good idea?”

“…………”

Without answering me, Big Sis takes off her baseball cap and tosses it across the floor.

“Then, be my chair.”

“Huh?”

“Just sit down already.”

“Owwwch?!”

Big Sis nails me a low kick right to the shins!!

Everything below my knees is taken out by that scythe-like strike. I collapse to the floor and watch as Big Sis’s little bottom comes down on top of my lap.

She then leans into me like I’m some kind of floor cushion.

So, this is what she meant when she said to be her chair.

“…… Too bumpy. Get softer.”

“Get softer ……? The human body doesn’t have that feature ……”

Maybe she’s mistaking her younger brother apprentice for slime?

Shifting her bottom around to find a comfortable spot, Big Sis puts her knees together and sets her tablet on her lap before turning it on and opening Shogi software.

“See? We only need to use one tablet this way. Now, what move would you make with the formation like this?”

“Hmmm …… If it were me–––.”

I reach out toward the screen but freeze with my hand in midair.

The tablet is resting on her thighs, so reaching out for it is kind of …… like, um ……

I’m embracing her from behind …… ish?

“Touch my breast and I’ll kill you.”

“Can’t touch what isn’t there ……”

“What was that?”

“I won’t. I won’t touch anything.”

Strong words coming from a member of the itty-bitty titty committee ……

The thing is, I’m powerless to stand up to her. Big Sis is right up against me. Her hair and skin smell so good that I can’t think straight, which is what’s keeping me from resisting whatever she says.

I don’t get it. Back when we were little, we used to bathe together all the time and it wasn’t a big deal …… But now, it’s like she’s become a completely different species.

I can’t see her face from this angle, but I can tell she’s not feeling anything by the sound of her voice. My heart is the only one that’s racing, so I force myself to calm down and focus on Shogi research before Big Sis catches on.

“Well …… Moving this piece here in this situation is trending right now.”

“Isn’t this the valid move?”

“I agree, that one does feel right. But, if you move that other piece forward–––.”

Hmmm ……

Sitting like this is kind of nice ……

Seeing analysis from the same side of the board gives an angle you can’t get from researching on opposite sides. It’s easy to get on the same page, I guess.

This is a new discovery. I should try it out at the next Grade Schooler Practice Group session …… Is how far my train of thought gets before Big Sis slams the back of her head into my chin. Owch!

“What was that for?!”

“You were thinking about little girls just now, weren’t you?”

S-she’s sharp ……!

I did my best not to think about the grade schoolers from then on, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Because, Shogi is here to distract me. Shogi …… and my younger older sister.

Once our research got to a good stopping point, Big Sis stretches out her arms and legs with a long “Nghhh!” before saying.

“I’m hungry.”

“I see.”

“I’m hungry!”

Big Sis starts kicking her legs up and down. What is she, a kid?

I thought we just had lunch a little bit ago, but glancing at the clock tells me that was actually more than a few hours ago.

Strange …… All I was doing was being Big Sis’s chair in an empty room, so why did time go by so fast? Shogi can really eat up time when you’re not paying attention.

“Don’t look at me. There aren’t any pots or pans in the kitchen, so we can’t cook anything. How about going out to eat?”

“Simple. Delivery.”

“Oh, that makes sense. How about pizza?”

“No. I want sushi.”

“O-khay, o-khay.”

Just as Snow White desires, I start ordering sushi on my smartphone. I do this all the time for the Grade Schooler Practice Group, so all the info is saved already.

I go downstairs to pick up the delivery once it arrives (I made the order, so of course I went) and bring everything up to Big Sis.

“We research while we eat. I won’t be wasting time.”

She’s telling me to be her chair again. I have no choice but to obey.

“All right, so we grab one whenever we feel like it?”

“Fingers will get dirty.”

“Just use chopsticks.”

“Feed me.”

Well, she’s right about fingers getting dirty, which will make the tablet’s touchscreen get sticky …… I convince myself as I grab Big Sis’s favorites and bring them to her lips one after another.

“Yaichi. Put them all the way inside my mouth.”

“That’s hard, like one of those two-person helping hands comedy routines ……”

“Then get better at it. That way, it’ll go smoother next time.”

Next time? She’s going to make me do this again?

Does that mean all my practice sessions with Big Sis from here on out are going to be this style?

“Yaichi, you may eat some too.”

“…… Thank you.”

I’m so happy I could cry. Getting to eat the sushi that I paid for myself? This must be heaven!

And so, we get back to researching while snacking on sushi.

The nice thing about sushi or pizza is you can grab a piece or a slice whenever you want. The problem is you get so caught up in a sequence that the half-eaten piece stays in your hand for a long time and can get messy.

My hands and lips were sticky by the time our research got to a good stopping point.

“Whew …… I think that’s as good a conclusion as we’re going to get. Let’s move on to another subject.”

“Yaichi, you’ve got rice on your cheek.”

“I do? Where?”

“…… Your moronic face.”

Big Sis rotates her body to face me, plucks the piece of rice off my cheek, and eats it.

“……!!”

Squeeeeeze!! My whole chest tightens up and a feeling I can’t put into words washes over me.

This kind of thing used to happen all the time, but …… Now it’s seriously embarrassing. It’s hard to sit still ……

“L-look at the time! Staying out too late would be, you know, so shouldn’t we be heading home?”

“………………………………”

Big Sis kind of mumbles for a few seconds before saying this in a feeble voice.

“I don’t have any more plans for today …… We can keep going, if you want? ………… Or do something else ……”

Something else?

D-does she mean ……?!!

“You want to work on Ranging Rook, too? You’re really bound and determined.”

“Drop dead, trash.”

“What are you grilling me for?!”

Now, Big Sis is angrily puffing out her cheeks for some reason.

What else would there be to research? Ranging Rook versus Ranging Rook?

She moves away from me, pouting as she sits down with her knees together in front of her chest and says without looking at me.

“…… And? What are we going to research next?” she asks, stretching out her toes while running her fingers between them.

“Yaichi, you don’t have anyone to research with now that our practice sessions with Oishi-sensei are on hold, right? You’re the one in a pinch, so I guess I could help you out if you want. But, I’ll be extremely busy with the 3-dan division starting in April.”

“The 3-dan division …… That’s right. It’s about to start ……”

Hearing those words is like taking a bucket of ice water to the face.

It’s like a big tournament that takes place over six months for every 3-dan ranking member of the Sub League. The top two at the end get promoted to 4-dan …… They can turn pro.

So, what kind of Shogi do you think gets played under those conditions?

Not a single match record produced in there could be called pretty. Everyone is so focused on not losing and making their opponents dread facing them again that they hit each and every weakness they can find without mercy.

Even the winner walks away with their heart in pieces and losing kills it all together.

The nail in the coffin is the age limit. It’s said that some people couldn’t take the pressure and took their own lives.

While I didn’t suffer that much, just thinking about my time in the 3-dan division makes me depressed.

The one thing that all Shogi pros agree on is we don’t want to go back there again. It’s hell on earth.

And Big Sis is about to take her first step into it.

A 15-year-old girl … in that hellhole.

I was really happy about this arrangement at first, but …… thinking about it rationally, now is not the time for her to be having laid-back practice sessions with me.

“I’ll be very, very busy, but I’ll make time for you if you say you absolutely need it, Yaichi. It won’t be easy, but as your elder sister apprentice, if you absolutely insist–––.”

“About that. Let’s stay away from each other for the time being.”

“……?”

She freezes like a statue, a look of shock on her face with her mouth wide open.

I’m sure it hurts, being told this after going out of her way to help me, but …… I can’t go along with her kindness right now.

I want Bis Sis to focus on herself right now. Only on herself ……

With that in mind, I put it to her like this.

“Well …… At least until the Queen Title Match is over, I think we should stop doing these practice sessions. We’re not exactly facing off, but you bringing me, the Master of your opponent in a series of matches for a title, into your apartment for practice sessions will cause a lot of misunderstandings.”

“…………… Well, obviously.”

“I thought so. I’m expected to do a lot as Ai Yashajin’s Master as she tries to claim her first title, so having practice sessions with her opponent would leave a bad taste.”

“Of course it would. That much is common sense. You don’t have to tell me. Are you brain-dead? Why would you actually say it? Would you die already?”

“I-I apologize ……”

This level of outrage is absurd, but yes, me telling that to someone of Big Sis’s standing point-blank was rude. Even I’d get angry at someone telling me something so basic.

But, if I don’t put it out there right now, Big Sis is so kind that she’ll end up wasting what little precious time she has on me.

“Anyway, I suggest we continue these practice sessions after the Queen Title Match is over.”

“Makes sense.”

She gives me a short nod. I thought that would be the end of it, but–––.

“But, are you okay with that, Yaichi?”

“Come again?”

“The Queen Title Match typically ends in June. The placement matches will have started by then, so aren’t you worried about not having a partner for practice sessions?”

“I’ve gotten pretty good at researching by myself with software, so I’ll be fine.”

If I’m being totally honest, I want practice sessions. As many as possible.

Playing against software and playing as a person are totally different, having a place like this to do research would be perfect, and not seeing Big Sis for that long hurts for a different reason, but …… I can’t be selfish right now.

Just as Big Sis said, having both the Queen Title Match and the 3-dan division going at the same time will be rough.

If she tries doing practice sessions with me on top of that, she won’t be able to pull out all the stops because there’s a chance that info might make it to Ai Yashajin. No one can do worthwhile research when they’re trying to hide exactly how much they know.

–––It’s better we don’t see each other right now. For both of our sakes.

I put on a happy face when I turn her down so she won’t feel guilty.

“Thank you for worrying about me! But I’ll be all right! I can wait until after the Queen Title Match to see you again, no problem!!”

“…………………………………………………………”

Big Sis stares at the floor in silence then raises her head with a snap.

“Leave.”

“Huh?”

“I have plans.”

“Huh? But you just said you didn’t–––.”

“I just remembered.”

“What kind of plans?”

“An extremely important secret errand.”

Big Sis pulls me to my feet and pushes me all the way out the front door and says as she’s closing it, “I’ll speak with the association about the upcoming schedule.”

The moment the Queen Title Match schedule is presented to us in the Kansai Association’s third floor office meeting room, the little girl dressed in black jumps to her feet and lashes out.

Ai Hinatsuru, sitting next to her, says, “T-Ten-chan …… Calm down ……,” in an attempt to keep the situation under control. But, Ai Yashajin ignores her and presses for answers.

“Three matches are within only 10 days of each other …… The fourth and fifth matches aren’t even set! Is this some kind of joke?!”

“…… One does wish to apologize.”

The person sitting across from us, association employee Sasari Oga, bites her lip and lowers her head.

She has enough influence to be called the Shadow Don, but her usual look of being in total control is gone.

“Many unexpected happenings have occurred in quick succession …… Though it pains me to admit, the situation has exceeded the association’s ability to manage,” Ms. Oga explains with a hint of exhaustion showing on her face.

I can hear Chairman Tsukimitsu talking on the phone on the other side of the door in the next room. They must be using every second of every minute to negotiate with everyone involved.

It’s true that the overlapping of title matches has completely destroyed the association’s schedule. Me becoming the big board analyst for the whole Queen Title Match series is proof enough of that.

Regular league matches can be moved around based on when the players and the match recorder have time, but it’s not that easy for title matches.

There are Shogi journalists, people managing the online coverage, a high-ranking observer, association publicists, the big board commentator and analyst …… So many more people are involved.

“At the same time two consecutive King Title Matches end in stalemates and the Meijin’s 100th title season is upon us, the amount of attention the Queen Title Match and 3-dan division are receiving is far beyond yearly norms …… which has resulted in next to no scheduling flexibility at this time.”

“I understand the situation, but this is my precious young apprentice’s first title match. As her Master, I want her to have the opportunity to be in peak condition.”

Ai Yashajin makes a small humph sound when I say precious apprentice. Meanwhile, Ai Hinatsuru puffs out her cheeks with an angry mmph! Kids are so hard to understand ……

“It is just as you say, Dragon King Ryuo,” Ms. Oga bows her head to me before turning to face the still standing Ai Yashajin. “Under normal circumstances, each match in the series for a title match would have been scheduled and announced far in advance. Though the situation prevented that this time, one truly wishes to apologize to you, Ms. Yashajin.”

“……”

“That being said, we believe this schedule is best for all parties involved. Great measures have been taken in order to assure that the matches will take place in the best possible environment.”

Ms. Oga sounds sincere.

Of the three matches that are scheduled, one is in Osaka and another in Kobe. And one home match for both Big Sis and Ai Yashajin will help keep transportation issues to a minimum.

That’s especially true for the first match, which will happen in a place that is actually more of a home for Ai than Big Sis right here in Osaka.

The second match is a little far away, but we can trust the hosts for that one.

“……………”

Still on her feet, Ai Yashajin closes her eyes and tries with all her might to get her anger under control without saying a word.

Ai Hinatsuru watches from her chair, looking worried.

“This is just my opinion, not based on anything in particular–––.”

Hiding the fact that I just talked with Big Sis the other day, I address my second apprentice.

“As far as Big Sis is concerned, she is about to become the first female member of the 3-dan division. I’m sure she wants to finish the Queen Title Match as soon as possible so she can prepare for that. Women’s League Titles just aren’t all that important to her.”

I glance over at Ms. Oga.

“I’m also sure that the association would like to use her battle against Ai in the Queen Title Match for publicity and then have that carry over right into the 3-dan division, right? There are other story lines going on as well, like the first 3-dan grade schooler and the businessman who got into the 3-dan division through the Admission Exam.”

“While the association is hoping for a publicity boost in that regard, the main concern is Sora-Queen’s health. Therefore, her request was given priority in this matter,” Ms. Oga says flatly.

It’s only natural that title holders have priority when setting the schedule for title matches. If you have a problem with it, just claim the title for yourself.

It’s just …… If Big Sis specifically asked for this schedule, there must be a strong meaning or message behind it.

Closing her eyes, Ai Yashajin says with a tone so cold the room almost freezes over, “…… I see how it is. Basically, she thinks she’ll defeat me three times in a row.”

“…………”

Ms. Oga’s and my silence confirm what she said.

There’s really no point in denying it, and this girl is so smart that she sees right through adults lying to her.

“I’ll win the first three matches anyway, so just schedule them …… I want this over and done with before the 3-dan division starts.”

I can just see her asking for the schedule.

When suddenly, “Ah!” Ai Hinatsuru looks up at me like she’s just realized something important. “So, that’s why the fourth and fifth matches will be at the Kansai Association!!”

“The last two matches are always at the association ……”

The Women’s League doesn’t have the budget to play anyplace else ……

“While money was indeed an issue, scheduling arenas also presented a significant challenge. Back to the matter at hand ……”

Ms. Oga brings us back to the start of the conversation.

In the end, it’s a timing problem and there’s no way to fix it.

“What is your answer, Ms. Yashajin? Should you refuse the current schedule, we will of course look into alternatives. In the worst-case scenario, this would result in all matches being played at the Kanto and Kansai Associations, but ……”

“This is fine. I’ll accept the schedule,” says Ai Yashajin with her usual arrogant confidence and determination, flipping her silky hair over her shoulder with the palm of her hand like a black wing at the same time.

Then, she makes a declaration of her own.

“She will have to deal with the short preparation time as well. Actually, she’ll be more focused on the 3-dan division, yes? I won’t be in her line of sight, which gives me the chance to land a punch from her blind spot.”

Ai punches her own palm, making a sound like a firecracker as she spoke.

“If I can get her reeling from the start, all I have to do is keep up the pressure so she never has a chance to get up. I’ll make her regret asking for this schedule!”

“Yes. That’s the spirit.”

As her Master, it’s reassuring to hear her competitiveness coming through.

Ai is in a good spot mentally.

Big Sis is obviously the stronger of the two, but Ai Yashajin doesn’t know how scary she is just yet. That gives her a chance to win.

I’m in a strange position though …… I don’t want Big Sis to be under too much pressure, but I also don’t want Ai to lose ……

“Thank you for your understanding.” Once Ms. Oga makes a deep bow, she turns to me and says, “Moving on … about your request concerning Ms. Hinatsuru–––.”

“……!!”

Even before me, I can tell my first apprentice freezes up on the spot.

Glancing at her, I listen to what Ms. Oga has to say as she dons a very professional tone.

“The board concluded that it would be best to not move forward with it.”

“I see ……”

Dejected, I let out a long sigh.

“I was thinking that Ai seeing the title match from the boardside table as the match recorder would be a valuable experience for her, but ……”

Working as a match recorder has been called the perfect training method for a long, long time because they get to watch the match closer than anyone else.

Though some people dispute just how much someone’s Shogi skill can increase by being the match recorder because of how easy it is to follow matches over the Internet …

That being said, there are tons of people who say they want to record a title match at least once in their lifetime.

Keika gave me one extra piece of advice the day that Ai Yashajin became the Queen Challenger. Which was–––.

“Make sure that Ai is involved in the title match. Get her as close to it as you can.”

That’s it.

She suggested making her the match recorder, and I couldn’t have agreed more. Even Ai Hinatsuru said, “I want to do it!” the moment I asked her about.

I’m sure she wanted to help her younger sister apprentice in some way during the title match and there’s probably some excitement left over from seeing the Yamashiro Ouka Title Match the other day.

Unfortunately, the association’s answer was no.

“U-umm …… Does that mean that I’m not good enough yet?!” says Ai, desperately looking to Ms. Oga for answers. “If I don’t have enough experience, I’ll go record matches every single day! I know there isn’t much time left, but …… but I’ll work very hard! Please …… Please ……!!”

“That is not the issue here.” The young Women’s League player’s straightforward enthusiasm washes over Ms. Oga like an intense spotlight, so she takes a moment to compose herself before saying, “The association has high expectations for you, Ms. Hinatsuru, and we would be more than happy to have your name attached to a title match record. Were this any other title match, your proposal would be accepted with open arms. However ……”

That’s when it all clicks for me.

“Then, the real problem is–––.”

“Yes. The Family Ties Regulation.”

The observer and match recorder have to be from outside the Shogi family trees of both players to make sure everything stays fair. That’s why this rule is known as The Family Ties Regulation.

Of course, Ai Hinatsuru and I know about it.

However, there is one exception.

“In the case that both players belong to the same family, the match recorder may as well …… Sora-Queen is Kiyotaki 9-dan’s apprentice while Ai Yashajin and Ai Hinatsuru are both his granddaughter apprentices. Therefore, it should be possible to treat them as members of the same family tree. That was your reasoning, Ryuo, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately, we cannot make such an exception.”

“…… Not that the match recorder can do much to help a player during a match.”

“Yes, but rules are rules. The board has made the decision that Shogi family tree only pertains to a Master and their apprentices in this situation.”

“Isn’t there anything you can ……?”

“No. Not in this instance.”

The Shogi Association tends to approve special circumstances, to let customary things just disappear and to be flexible depending on the situation quite a bit.

Just, not this time.

“I do have a proposal on this matter.” Ms. Oga finally smiles like usual and says, “In order for Ms. Hinatsuru to observe the title match as closely as possible, the association has come up with a different offer. Specifically–––.”

“Huh?”

Both Ai Hinatsuru and I tilted our heads at Ms. Oga’s suggestion.

“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh–––?!”

The shock is just too much to contain. Come again?!

Charlette’s voice filled the room, but her tongue couldn’t keep up with the vowels.

Four elementary school–aged girls had gathered at the apartment Yaichi Kuzuryu and Ai Hinatsuru call home.

Getting together these last few precious days of their spring break, the Grade Schooler Practice Group was in the middle of a Shogi sleepover and pajama party.

With the first match of the Queen Title Match a mere two days away, Yaichi was currently in Kobe to give Ai Yashajin a last-minute Shogi lesson.

“Jawana …… Nope. Journalist, as in one of those people? Writers for newspapers and Shogi magazines who do articles about the matches?” Momentarily picking up a bit of Charlette’s accent, Mio asks for confirmation.

“That’s right. Master and I, we were pretty surprised ……,” Ai responded with a mixture of concern and happiness on her face. “I asked them to let me work as the match recorder, but they said no …… That’s why they offered to let me be a journalist.”

“Which match are you going to do?”

“They said I could choose any to write about.”

“Really? Is that how it works?”

“It’s not for a newspaper or anything. They’ll post what I write on the association homepage and in a magazine. Ms. Oga also told me I could write about the whole series at once if I wanted. So I decided to go watch the first and third matches myself. They’re both in Kansai, too.”

“Wooow~ …… Getting all this special treatment, the Shogi Association really must have high hopes for you, Ai!” said Mio, thoroughly impressed as she nodded her head.

“And the journalist gets to sit right next to the match recorder, yeah? But, you won’t have to make tea or anything and you can leave your spot whenever you want! That’s so much easier!”

“Ahaha. But Master said: Being a match recorder would be better for training. He looked really sad, too.”

“Cha, too! Cha wants to wecord matches!”

“That’s great, Charlette. But you’d better learn proper posture first.”

The moment Mio said that, Charlotte immediately blurted, “I twain!” and tried to sit on her ankles. However, her balance was off, and she tumbled to the floor.

“Ahahahaha!”

“Charlette, that was so cute!”

“Weally?”

Right beside this lighthearted banter, one girl’s eyes were alight with admiration.

“Truly amazing! I’m so jealous of you!!” said Ayano Sadatou with a blinding flash from her glasses.

“Not only a Women’s League player, but a Shogi journalist as well! You are just like Big Sister Machi! I wish to become just like that!”

“D-do you really think so? I don’t think I can write as good as Kugui-sensei, but …… I’ll look to her as an example and do my best!”

“My oh my …… So then, the fastest way to join the Women’s League is to write articles? In that case, I’ll set my sights on the league and …… But … but … my skills are …… Awhhhh~!”

“Ayano? What wong? Pat pat?”

Worried about Ayano as the girl goes deep into thought, Charlette goes over to her and gently pats her head with her tiny hand in a show of support.

“Well, don’t forget, you’ve got really pretty handwriting and get good grades in Japanese class, so you might be perfect for this journalist thing.”

“Thank you, Mio!”

Since Ai’s typing skills were still a work in progress, she was told to write on the same lined paper she used in elementary school and submit her article that way.

“Hey, hey,” said Charlette as she tugged on Mio and Ai’s clothes. “Cha, Cha wants to wite an atwicle, too.”

“You do? But, Charlette, can you write Japanese characters? You’ll have to write the Chinese kanji characters, too.”

Ayano, who had recovered from her momentary breakdown, answers Mio.

“Charlette has a lot of confidence in her writing because a short essay she wrote at school was published in the local paper.”

“Wooow?! That’s amazing!!”

“Take a wook!”

Charlette reached into her pocket and pulled out a neatly folded newspaper clipping, which she then held out for Ai and Mio to see.

But Cha lubs Masta eben more.

Masta twold Cha.

“You can bwe my bwide.”

“We’ll hwoneymoon in Hawaii.”

“I’ll bwuy you an apawtment.”

Cha lubs Masta, too.

How much?

Vewy much!

“This was in the newspaper? This right here?”

“Oui!” she responded with a proud grin.

Ai showered the young girl with praise.

“Of course something this well-written was chosen! You’re really good at writing, Charlette! It must be nice.”

“Oui!”

“So, tell me, have you written anything else? Has Master said anything else to you, Charlette ……? I’d love to hear more! Would you tell me?”

“Oui!”

“Oh, no no no ……”

One look at Charlette’s sparkling grin next to Ai’s dazzling smile made the color drain from Mio and Ayano’s faces.

“Ch-Charlette! Save that for later! …… Actually, never ever tell Ai that you like Kuzuryu-sensei, okay?!!”

“Oui?”

Charlette tilts her head, confused. Ai doesn’t say another word but the smile is still plastered to her face. That visage was much, much scarier than words can describe.

Mio changes the subject in an attempt to clear the sour air.

“B-But, yeah! Kuzuryu-sensei making you write an article about Ten-chan, that’s really mean of him!”

“Huh?”

Ai couldn’t follow Mio’s thinking.

So, Mio spells it out for her.

“Ten-chan is your rival, right? Doesn’t having a front row seat for your rival’s title match sting quite a bit?”

“N-No, not at all! Master is coming up with all sorts of ways to help me grow. It’s not painful at all.”

Ai denied Mio’s words with everything she had.

“Besides, I still haven’t won a single match against Ten-chan, so rather than hurt …… I mean, Ten-chan started playing Shogi years before I did and her record in the Women’s League is so much better than mine …… Thinking of her as a rival would be ridiculous.”

“Are you sure? As I see it, the two of you both became Women’s League players very quickly, so I think you have the same amount of talent that she does. Also, people still talk about how you cried after the day you lost to Ten-chan in the Practice League. I believe you are perfect rivals.”

Once Ayano was finished speaking, Ai meekly shook her head from side to side.

“That day in the Practice League, I was just upset with myself because I didn’t see the check path and let the win get away …… But ……,” added Ai as she forced a smile, “she isn’t my rival. I’m her sister apprentice. That’s why I want to write something for her!”

“Is that right ……?”

Mio knew the pain of losing to Ai despite having a handicap advantage in the Practice League and shed tears of her own at the time. Despite her complicated feelings on the matter, she eventually nodded and took Ai at her word.

“Well, if you say so!”

“As you are sister apprentices, it is better to be on good terms. Though Ten-chan is not the easiest to get along with, she takes Shogi very seriously and I respect her a great deal for it. I wish her well in this match,” said Ayano.

“Cha, too! Cha wants to woot for Ten-chan!”

Though Ai Yashajin kept a very clear line between herself and the other members of the Grade Schooler Practice Group, that didn’t change the fact that she was a friend who would research right along with them.

“I’ve got it!! Think we can go and cheer for her at the match?! Can we?! The first one’s in Osaka, right?”

“That isn’t too far away and it’s a tourist area like Kyoto, so we should be able to go together.”

The schedule for the Queen Title Match had finally been announced and had become a trending topic.

Preparations for crowd control were already in the works and all tickets for the commentary hall with big board analysis were being sold by lottery rather than first-come first-serve, making this Shogi event feel more like an idol concert. However–––.

“Kuzuryu-sensei’s students get VIP seats, right? They said so at the Yamashiro Ouka Title Match.”

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask Master about it, but ……”

In this instance, VIP stood for Very Important Prepubescent. Association staff has come to believe that Yaichi Kuzuryu-sensei has a Lolita complex, and therefore makes sure that there are seats available for his tiny entourage whenever he participates in events.

This means that little girls actually sitting in those seats all but confirms Kuzuryu-sensei’s preferences to the Shogi world at large …… As these four girls are still in elementary school, they have yet to catch on to this fact. The long-term outlook on Kuzuryu-sensei’s reputation is concerning.

However Ai was more concerned with something else.

“But, you know what Ten-chan is like. She’ll be angry with us if we make a scene cheering for her. Not to mention that Aunti- …… the way Sora-sensei acts rubs her the wrong way.”

“I know, I know! That’s why we go there and root for her really quietly! It shouldn’t be a problem just listening to the commentary, right?”

“Kwietly!” squealed Charlette with glee, happily waving her arms in the air. Not the least bit quiet at all.

“I shall make sure that Charlette behaves herself,” said Ayano, clamping down on Charlette with a bear hug from behind.

“I too wish to see what a Shogi journalist does with my own eyes! So please, let me come with you!!” she adds, her eyes glistening with desire.

At this point, Ai knew the three girls would go anyway even if she refused.

“…… Why not? We can all go and support Ten-chan together. Yes! I’ll ask Master!”

Ai nodded with a smile. Her younger sister apprentice Ai Yashajin was easily misunderstood, but she was happy to have someone she could relate to.

Mio got to her feet and started waving her arms about.

“Yaaay! So, our group is now officially Ten-chan’s cheerleaders!”

“Yess!”

And so it was that the cutest little support squad was born.

First match of the Queen Title Match.

Here to inspect the arena for tomorrow’s match, I take a long, sentimental look at the building towering overhead.

–––“Tsutenkaku.”

Without a doubt, it’s one of Osaka’s most recognizable landmarks.

Even with Osaka’s tallest building, Abeno Harukas, around, I’d still have to say Tsutenkaku Tower is the symbol of Osaka.

The area known as Shin Sekai or New World is right at its feet. It’s a place where tourists and some of Osaka’s shadier, one-step-away-from-being-homeless residents gather every single day to feast on fried kebabs and buy some of the gaudiest clothes you’ve ever seen.

The first place I took Ai Yashajin after agreeing to give her private lessons was a Shogi parlor right here in New World ……

“Quite nostalgic, wouldn’t you say? Kuzuryu-sensei?” says Akira, who was granted permission to come along with us as Ai’s guardian because she’s underage, as if she’s strolling down memory lane and lines up her camera.

“Not even a full year has passed, and yet …… My lady has become such a mature woman ……”

Of course, she’s pointing the lens at Ai.

Both players are standing in front of the Oushouhi King Piece Monument at the base of Tsutenkaku Tower for a pre-match photo session.

This kind of thing happens before every title match.

“Both of you, could you look this way please?!”

“Smile! Can I ask you to smile, please?!”

“Just like that, just like that!!”

Cameramen are lined up in ranks surrounding the 10-year-old challenger and the 15-year-old Queen.

Ai is wearing her usual black dress.

Big Sis is in her old sailor-style school uniform from junior high.

“Over here, please!”

“This way! Look this way, please!”

“May I ask for a different pose?! Like this …… As if you’re about to step on the readers on the other side of the camera! Yes, just like that! Perfect!!”

Ai and Big Sis keep their cool as they respond to the avalanche of requests coming from the photographers.

Even so, I have a feeling at least one of them is taking pictures for something other than the title match ……

“…… Seems like some of these media people don’t know what this event is for.”

“Ngh …… Disgraceful!”

Furious, Akira bullies her way into the throng of cameramen.

“Move it, ingrates! How dare you ask my lady to make such a pose!!”

“Wh-Who do you think you are?!”

“I’ll only say this once!! Asking my lady to pose is unnecessary! Because her domineering personality naturally shines through no matter what she does, can you not seeeeeeeeeee?!!”

“Hey?! Th-The heck’r ya doin’ on the ground, lady ……?!”

“Pant …… Pant …… Pant ……!”

Pointing her camera up at Ai at such a low angle seems to have gotten Akira really excited.

Ai can’t lash out at Akira like she normally would because of all the journalists around, so all she can do is glare at her. Unfortunately, that look seems to be doing something for Akira because her breathing is getting even more ragged as Ai’s frown keeps getting more intense. The cycle is complete. Me? Of course, I’m pretending I’ve never met her before in my life.

Locals and tourists in the area have noticed that something’s going on and are showing up with their cameras and smartphones at the ready.

“Wass goin’ on over ’ere?”

“They been sayin’ Naniwa’s Snow White is here!”

“Then ’at girl in black next to ’er must be that Kobe’s Cinderella ever’body’s been talkin’ ’bout. Tiny li’l thing.”

“Ohhh! Fantastic!!”

TV crews from around Osaka and all over the country have been running stories about Big Sis and Ai Yashajin day and night. This is the kind of treatment idols get when they’re in town.

“I raised that young’en with my own two hands, I did. She’s a strong one.”

When suddenly, a voice lathered in cigarettes and alcohol comes from the crowd.

“The Bishop Head Pawn strategy I taught ’er can take down the likes of Ginko Sora and Yaichi Kuzuryu, ya mark my words! Snow White’s perfect record ends tomorrow, ya hear!”

I-I know that voice ……!

So gruff you can’t tell if it’s an old man or woman, that has to be–––!!

“Panther! Is that, Panther?!” says Akira, looking up with one cheek still planted on the ground and sounding like a happy dog owner reunited with their long lost furry friend.

–––Panther.

The perplexing Shogi player who became Ai’s first roadblock at a Shogi parlor right here in New World called Twin Kings Club …… History and gender a mystery (later identified as female), her trademark was the leopard-patterned clothing she always wore. Every single thing on her body was pink the last time I saw her, like a living, breathing Pink Panther ……

Recovering from the shock, I point out.

“She’s gone purple …… From head to toe ……”

“Elder women seem to have a desire to dye their hair purple nowadays.”

Observing from a distance, I can tell that the Purple Panther is decked out with glitter. Ai seems to have noticed her as well and I don’t blame her for being a little on edge.

Looking closer, Panther isn’t alone. Quite a few of the skilled geezers who are more than willing to put money on the table to face Ai Yashajin in shinken-style matches at New World’s Shogi parlors are looking at her like they’re reminiscing right now.

They’re not rooting for her or even saying hello.

Just …… They’re interested enough in Ai to come and see for themselves.

That kind of vibe will definitely be a plus for her.

“But, yeah, I highly doubt she’ll be using Bishop Head Pawn tomorrow.”

“Why is that? Are you saying she’ll use Pincushion instead?”

“Did you mean to say Pac-Man by chance?”

“That’s totally what I said!” Akira says defiantly, sounding more girly than usual.

“I hate to say it, but Bishop Head Pawn and Pac-Man are B-rank strategies. Using one of them in the title match is a great way to get other players to turn their backs on you. Think about it, no matter how good the french fries may be, you wouldn’t order them at a five-star restaurant, would you?”

“Is that how it is ……?”

“Well, pretty much anything goes in modern Shogi. Win and people aren’t going to say much at all. On the other hand, lose and the damage is huge. Players have their individual reputations to worry about. Let a match end in a Repetition Draw when you start out with the advantage of being on offense, and people treat you like you lost ……”

Trust is big in the Shogi world.

This one is strong.

I could accept it if they took a title.

Once players start thinking about you that way, they stop trying to hold out at the moment of truth. Then it’s easier to win tournament-style and series matches, which ups your winning percentage.

That’s what trust is in this world.

Taking part in a title match is a chance for a player to boost their trust, but it’s also at the risk of going down.

A player becomes one Lance stronger being in a title match. However, they become a Lance weaker should they lose three matches in a row.

Trust is so important that that saying exists.

The Shogi world is testing Ai right now. Whether she wins against Big Sis or not, her career as a Women’s League player will be greatly affected by how she tries to pass it.

“…… Besides, Bishop Head Pawn won’t work on Big Sis anyway. Reason being, Ai’s version of it has a glaring weakness ……”

“A weakness?! Kuzuryu-sensei, what could that possibly–––?”

Right in the middle of Akira’s question.

“It’s time to do the arena inspection. Would both players, the observer and all staff with clearance please follow me inside,” someone on the management staff announces over the crowd.

The observer for this match is the man who retired right after playing against me in last year’s final placement match, the Don of Naniwa, Tatsuo Zaou 9-dan.

Despite all of the joint pain and using a cane to walk, he agreed to take on this important role.

“Excuse me, Kuzuryu-sensei …… Don’t you find this concerning? That fossil working as the observer? What will happen if he croaks during the match?”

“Shhh! Please don’t jinx it, Akira …… Zaou-sensei was the strongest player when Tsutenkaku Tower was thought of as a holy site in the Shogi world. You could even say that having a match here without him would be impossible.”

“Hmm, I see ……”

As for Zaou-sensei himself, he’s been quietly watching the photo session off to the side while leaning on my Master, Kousuke Kiyotaki 9-dan, for support, but–––.

“Comin’ all the way ta New World fer an inspection without a single nip from the bottle? Nonsense, I say! Kousuke! Oi, Kousuke!”

“Yes, yes, Sensei. Did you call?”

“We’re goin’ out fer a round. Now come on.”

“B-But, Sensei …… Doesn’t the observer need to be present for the inspection–––?”

“Ya can let yer apprentice take care o’ a Women’s League match inspection, yah? The boy ain’t old enough to drink nothin’ yet, so ’at works out juss fine.”

Zaou-sensei twirls his cane over his head for a moment before pointing it in my direction.

“Ryuo! Countin’ on ya.”

“All right ……”

Using my Master to keep his balance, Zaou-sensei really does head off in the direction of the nearest bar. Watching them go, it was hard enough getting out any response at all. Seriously, Shogi players back in the day were something else ……

Akira asked with concern in her voice, “Is this acceptable, Sensei? You said a match would not be possible at Tsutenkaku without the fossil.”

“…… Well, things will work out, right? It’s the first day, so surely Big Sis and Ai will behave themselves ……”

“So dark! Can’t you get a more acceptable amount of light in here?”

The moment we step inside the room that will be the arena on the third floor of Tsutenkaku Tower, she demands more lighting.

Another problem pops up with choosing what piece set to use.

Two different sets are available, but Big Sis takes one look and says, “The patterns used for this set of pieces are rather dark and will tire my eyes. I would prefer to use the white–––.”

“What’s this? Are your eyes getting old?”

The very same girl who just said that it’s too dark in here completely ignores that fact and takes a swipe at Big Sis for saying her eyes would get tired. It’s a jab at her age, for sure.

The whole staff freezes, unsure how to handle a 10-year-old treating a 15-year-old like an old lady.

Amid that silence, Ai lets out a long, loud, “Haaaaaa ……,” before piling on, “You know what, fine then. Let’s use that one. It’s worthless from an artistic standpoint and completely unfit for a title match, but what choice do we have if your eyes will get tired?”

“……”

“And another thing, the color white is just so awful to begin with. The same people that say it means purity are the same ones that talk about how pure they are in the first place. People like Snow White. I, for one, would give up playing Shogi altogether if I had such an embarrassing nickname.”

“…………”

The hue of Big Sis’s eyes shifts after that obvious taunt.

Her eyes change colors whenever she’s excited or has an intense urge to murder something. That color is dangerous!!

“Okay, okay, okay! Th-That set will be fine for the match, yes ……? But the board! Would someone please tell me about it?!” I say louder than necessary to grab everyone’s attention away from the pieces.

It worked.

The management staff member says with a hint of thank you for noticing in his voice, “It was prepared specifically for this Queen Title Match. The association borrowed it from a very famous banshi board Master.”

“Who would that be?”

“Shumai Honinbou-sensei!”

…… Oh, her.

A Go title holder, Shumai Honinbou is the strongest female Go player in history.

Combined with the Shogi world, she is without a doubt the strongest woman to ever set pieces on a board who has ever lived.

Also renowned for her ability to make those boards and pieces, she lends Big Sis a hand so often that it seems like she has a lot of sympathy for another girl trying to follow in her footsteps. She was also the one who made the set of Shogi pieces for Ai Yashajin.

There’s just one catch …… She’s a bad drunk, plain and simple.

“It came with a message saying, As I have been barred from the Shogi world due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, I wish for my work, at the very least, to be part of this historic match.”

“No, there was no misunderstanding. She deserves everything she is getting ……”

I make that clear here and now.

“Anyway, what’s that board’s width?”

“Seven sun is what I’ve been told.”

“Oh, no no. I can tell it’s thicker than that.”

Seven sun would be roughly 21 cm, but the board sitting here looks like it’s almost 30.

“Speaking conservatively, I’d say this is at least eight sun. Knowing Shumai-sensei, she had a really good, thick piece of plum-yew kaya wood and just couldn’t bring herself to cut it ……”

Considering that two girls who have a special place in her heart are facing off in a title match, she was probably so determined to make the perfect board that she overlooked an important detail.

The fact that both of these girls are teenagers, well almost.

“Even adult men would get tired playing on this board …… Don’t forget that Ai, no, the challenger is still pretty short. Wouldn’t a slightly thinner board be better?”

“Agreed.”

The one who takes my side with a nod isn’t Ai — it’s Big Sis.

Big Sis, who’s usually so on the ball it drives me crazy, has matured quite a bit now that she’s one season away from being crowned Queen of Queens, a lifetime title similar to the Eternal designation for pro title holders …… I regret thinking that barely a second after it crossed my mind.

“She’s been complaining about pieces as well, so why not make everything for little kids? Animal Shogi would be perfect for her.”

What a scathing comeback. She didn’t try to hide that taunt at all.

Ai stands up as if to say: the inspection is over, but glares at Big Sis instead and declares, “This board is fine.”

“Hold on a second, Ai–––.”

“I’m saying it’s fine how it is. Didn’t you hear me? Are you just plain stupid? Should you die?”

Oooph ……

A thicker board will put the shorter player at a disadvantage, namely Ai Yashajin.

She’s smart enough to know that without me telling her, but she’s being extremely defiant right before the match so that she doesn’t look weak in any way. Though she could just be pissed off right now.

“I-In that case, I would like thick floor cushions to be available tomorrow ……,” I say to the staff, trying to bring an end to this standoff, but unfortunately Big Sis makes it all for naught again.

“If she’s going to use a thick floor cushion, why not just give her a high chair? Or perhaps she could sit on her nice Master’s lap during the match? I wouldn’t care.”

“What makes you think you’re so grown up? I’ve heard you’re still smooth down there.”

“Want to be torn apart and fed to the animals at Tennouji Zoo?”

“Ohh, I’m so scared! Save me, Sensei!”

Ai hides behind me. Leave me out of this!!

“C-Calligraphy! I need both of you to write some calligraphy as presents for tonight’s guests at the opening night party. Now, if you please!” I announce as the observer representative while I try to endure the holes Big Sis is glaring through my chest …… the media people’s cue to get their cameras out so they could capture the moment the girls put brush to paper.

Big Sis and Ai look away from each other with a loud humph! before lathering up their brushes with a ton of ink, slamming them down onto the fancy pieces of paper and all but slicing out characters.

Who would be happy getting that kind of present ……?

“50,000!”

“Then I bid 70,000 yen!!”

“Mwha ha ha ha! Is that all your love for my lady is worth?! I bid 80,000! I challenge anyone willing to bet more to prove me wrong!!”

The opening night party is being hosted at Spa World, only a five-minute walk from Tsutenkaku Tower.

Along with being able to enjoy baths and spas from all across the globe, they have a hotel and rooms designed for parties like this. That may sound impressive, but this place isn’t so much different from other public bath and spa chains. This may be Women’s League, but I doubt they’ve ever hosted anything like this Shogi opening night party before.

Thanks to everything that happened during the inspection, the players were already one wrong word away from tearing into each other when the party started. Both decided to go back to their own rooms barely 10 minutes into it. That’s another thing that’s never happened before–––. (Because…)

“Spring has most certainly sprung. Since little flies have started coming out of the woodwork, exterminating them is my first priority.” (Big Sis)

“If I’m the fly, that makes you the garbage that attracts them.” (Ai Yashajin)

Since the players’ speeches got off on that note, they’d be more likely to kill each other than play Shogi if they stayed in the same room …… So, yeah ……

Which is why their calligraphy went up for auction right away.

On a side note, a title holder’s calligraphy typically goes for about 5,000 yen, but–––.

“85,000!”

“90,000!”

“93,000!!”

“Enough of this! 100,000 yen! I don’t care if I have to walk back to Kobe!!”

I restrain Akira from behind as she literally empties her wallet.

“Please, calm down! You can get Ai’s autograph anytime you want!!”

“Don’t get in my way, Sensei! My lady outright refuses to sign autographs for anyone she knows personally! Which is why the lord of the manor and I have been buying up as many as possible at Shogi events without her knowledge just like this!!”

“That by itself isn’t all that unusual in the Shogi world, but please, show some self-restraint this time!!”

Parents and siblings of Shogi players coming to these opening night parties or participating in the next move quizzes during commentary events in order to get prizes signed by a member of their own family happens all the time. Many of them who actually do get said prize end up returning it.

When all was said and done, Ai’s calligraphy went for 100,000 yen (to Akira).

Which in turn made all Big Sis’s fans drive up the price of her calligraphy because they couldn’t let the Queen’s go for less than the challenger’s!

Rather than stop all the fuss, the observer Zaou 9-dan took the initiative by changing into a yukata and downing bottle after bottle of beer. The man’s in a great mood.

“Wah-ha-ha-ha! Ain’t this great? Ain’t this inter’stin’? Yea, Kousuke?”

“Yes, yes, Sensei. Though, tomorrow’s gonna be a rough day if you don’t turn in soon ……”

“Ya thinkin’ my liver’s so weak ’hundred beers’ll get me drunk, are ya?!”

The Don of Naniwa whacks my Master upside the head with an open palm before saying in a really sad voice, “…… An’ ya know, I’m retired now. There ain’t no reason fer me to watch my health no more. Gettin’ drunk is the only fun thin’ I’ve got left. Shogi’s already gone, don’ take beer away from me, too.”

“Sensei ……,” says Master weakly before … “Understood! I, Kousuke Kiyotaki, will drink right along with you until you’re satisfied! Yaichi! Off with those clothes, we’re dancin’!!”

“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!”

You’re dragging me into this too?!

“Quit yar bellyachin’! Our Shogi family’s starrin’ in this match!! If we don’t liven up the party, then who the heck will?! Come on, the floor needs hittin’!!”

Master, stripping out of his suit and yelling at the top of his lungs.

Akira, still beaming from her victory at the auction, says with a smile, “Have no fear! I shall record your courage on my camera for all to see, Kuzuryu-sensei!”

“No one needs that, dammit!!” I yell, ripping off my necktie.

Master’s orders are absolute. The Queen Title Match opening night party filled with alcohol, wads of money flying around and men dancing around in their underwear lasts all the way until the morning of ……

My apprentice Ai greets me first thing when I step in the arena. Of course, not Ai Yashajin.

“Aghhh …… Ai. Mornin’ ……”

“? Are you tired?”

“Well ……… The opening night party just wouldn’t end ……”

Zaou-sensei wouldn’t go home and my Master was completely plastered. I had to take care of them until the sun came up. Seriously, I felt like I was working at an old folks’ home.

“…… Ah, you brought your writing supplies. Good girl.”

Ai Hinatsuru is sitting on her ankles with her notebook and Mr. Cat pen case on her lap. Looking down at her, I take a seat next to my apprentice before glancing around the room.

“So, where’s Keika? She came with you this morning, right?”

I had Keika look after Ai at Master’s place last night because both he and I were here at the party.

Naturally, I thought Keika would come with her, but–––.

“Keika stayed home.”

“She stayed behind? Why?”

“I don’t know the specific reason, but …… Maybe someone needs to keep an eye on the classroom?”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Being exhausted and running on no sleep is messing with my mind.

I’m sure she really wants to come, but somebody has to do that. After all she’s done to care for Ai and Big Sis, the Kiyotaki Shogi family is still standing all thanks to her. I swear, she’s a saint, a holy mother.

“Mornin’ y’all. Workin’ hard, I see.”

Observer Zaou 9-dan makes his entrance exactly 20 minutes before the match is going to start.

He looks so much younger in a kimono. His spine is straight as an arrow and he’s not using a cane. I wouldn’t expect anything less.

My Master is right behind him, sleep-deprived face pale as a ghost and so hung over he can barely walk. He’s not going to be any help today at all ……

Now all that’s left is to wait for the players. A natural stillness fills the arena as tension starts building.

The first to arrive is––– challenger, Ai Yashajin Women’s League 2-dan.

“Good morning.”

The rules for the Queen Title Match state that the players must be dressed in kimono at the start of the match.

The one my apprentice is wearing as she greets every person in the arena in a loud and clear voice is black with a red motif. It’s paired with dark red hakama trousers.

“Whoaaa ……”

The media people had their positions staked out and their cameras at the ready but were so overwhelmed by the 10-year-old’s aura when she came in that they were all a second or two late taking her picture. This is a completely different Ai Yashajin from the one they saw yesterday.

A beautiful flame flickering in the blackest darkness, and here she is in person.

“So pretty ……,” whispers Ai Hinatsuru next to me, breathless.

Testing out the thick cushion with her hands, Ai Yashajin finds a comfortable spot and sits down in front of the board.

…… I knew that thing was 8-sun.

Big Sis sat next to it yesterday during the inspection as well, but comparing the board to Ai right now …… It’s way too big. I don’t think that will directly impact the outcome, but ……

––– She’s still only 10 years old ……

My chest clamps down as a strange feeling washes over me.

Unlike my first apprentice, Ai Yashajin got stronger without me having to do a single thing. She already had more than enough knowledge and talent the day we first met.

–––Even so …… Seeing how far she’s come really pulls on the heartstrings ……

I know it had nothing to do with me, but that doesn’t stop the corners of my eyes from heating up.

“Pardon me.”

Then, 10 minutes to the second before the match is going to start, Queen Ginko Sora makes her entrance.

Big Sis is wearing her usual title match kimono, a dark blue one. Taking a seat, she pulls a small fan out of her drawstring purse and places a pocket watch on the tatami mat.

Then, she takes lip balm, eye drops, a hand towel and all sorts of little things out of the purse and puts them in their proper places around her.

After that, when she is ready, she starts lining up the pieces. Ai follows suit, but her hands are not as steady.

Big Sis has played in over 20 title matches already.

She has the ability to make any arena into her own turf. In terms of title match experience, Big Sis is way ahead of me.

–––That’s the difference experience makes …… The Meijin had it, too. This aura of complete control.

Title matches are obviously different from regular league matches.

It’s easy to get distracted by how heavy and hot a kimono is, and of course nerves can build up with so much more on the line.

Even more than that, it’s hard to play your best when you’re playing Shogi in a completely new environment.

Big matches don’t produce memorable ones.

So much so that that proverb exists.

That’s how hard it is to play at your full potential in a title match.

–––However, the challenger has a wave of momentum on her side after emerging from the tournament victorious ……

Nothing is certain in any match. Just like how I became the Ryuo.

“I’ll conduct the piece flip,” says the match recorder, a current Sub League member, as he prepares to determine who will go first.

…… On a side note, I wanted Mr. Kagamizu to be the match recorder for this one.

Since he played against Ai’s father, a highly decorated amateur player, so much that it’s safe to say that the late Mr. Yashajin taught Mr. Kagamizu everything he knows, I thought it would be fitting for him to have a front row seat for this match.

But.

“I’m going to say no. I doubt I could keep a cool head just sitting there. And–––.”

Mr. Kagamizu declined my invitation and added something that sounded like he’d been thinking about for a while.

“There’s a chance I’ll have to play against Ginko in the 3-dan division. I’d like to focus on myself right now.”

In the end, he chose to work as the match recorder for the second match in the Meijin Title Match series in Aichi Prefecture. He said experiencing such a high-level match that way would help renew his determination to go pro.

Seeing his desire to prioritize his own training reminded me just how passionate he is about this upcoming 3-dan division season ……

“………… If only everyone could win.”

“?”

Ai Hinatsuru glances up at me, confused.

Just then, match recorder flips the pieces into the air. Clack, clack, clack …… They fall like raindrops.

“Five Pawns face up.”

“Ooahh ……” Sounds that didn’t quite become words fill the arena.

“Five …… Pawns. First move to ……”

Ai Hinatsuru is already taking notes.

Big Sis will be going first.

“…………”

After receiving the first move from the piece flip, Big Sis takes out a water bottle and fills her cup. That’s exactly the same thing she does in her room for practice sessions and researching.

Meanwhile, Ai has her eyes closed and isn’t moving a muscle.

Even after the piece flip, she’s not letting an ounce of emotion show. Her strategy is probably to prevent her opponent from getting the slightest read on her.

But …… Those tightly closed eyelids are trembling just a little bit.

Zaou-sensei looks over at the digital clock on the match recorder’s tablet and breaks the uneasy tranquility.

“Yea, it’s time. Go on now, start on up.”

The players exchange wordless greetings. An endless string of camera flashes surrounds them.

Then, once Big Sis opens her Bishop Path, she takes a drink from her cup to moisten her throat.

The break room for association staff and media people is on the second floor of Tsutenkaku Tower.

Every member of the Grade Schooler Practice Group came in this morning to observe.

Of the four of them, Ayano’s excitement is off the charts. She usually acts so grown up, but even she’s still in grade school ……

By the way, the big board analysis is going to take place in the reception hall underground and the match itself is on the third floor of the tower.

The players might hear us if things get too loud in here. Ayano’s seemingly endless supply of energy has me worried, but Ai Hinatsuru comes up to me and says, “Th-Thank you, Master, for arranging for all of us to be allowed in the staff break room ……”

“It’s no big deal. They’re your usual practicing partners, plus Mio and Ayano are Practice League members who will most likely join the Women’s League themselves one day. I couldn’t ask for better guests to invite in here.”

I’m used to seeing Sub League members inside the staff break room during title matches to do research all the time.

Not to mention the fact that the staff waiting room has got to be the most boring place on earth in the morning. We’re more than happy to have guests. Now that there are kids here, my hungover and very groggy Master is doing his best to look dignified as well.

“Thank you so much! Thank you so very, very much!!”

Ayano is on her knees, bowing down to the floor and thanking me like a broken record.

“You …… you have made my dream come true, Kuzuryu-sensei ……! Not that being allowed to stay at your apartment overnight isn’t already a dream come true every time …… For you, Kuzuryu-sensei, I would do anything, anything at all! If you asked me to get naked and dance for you right now, I would be more than happy to do so!!”

“A-A-A-Ayano?! This room is full of media people and association staff, okay?! Journalists are here too, so be careful what you say, okay?! Okay?!”

I desperately try to stop Ayano from saying anything too outrageous. Seriously, all the adrenaline has gone to her head.

Unfortunately, it’s already too late.

“…… Just now, that little girl said she would do anything, didn’t she ……?”

“Just when I was wonderin’ what Mr. Kuzuryu was thinkin’ by bringin’ a big group of grade school girls in here first thing in the mornin’, he’s askin’ them to strip …… naked ……?”

“Word is he’s got little girls staying at his place every night …… Should’ve known he was a loli-con ……”

“Is that how he raised Kobe’s Cinderella, too ……?”

“Since there’s nothing going on yet this morning, might as well get an article going.”

But that info’s not right–––!!!

“Mast- …… No.”

Putting on fake glasses that I didn’t know she had, Ai points a voice recorder in my direction and says, “A-hem. Um …… Kuzuryu-sensei? What is your take on this match’s early game?”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Ai? You’re not acting like yourself.”

“I’m a Shogi journalist today. This is an official interview, so Mast …… Pardon me, Kuzuryu-sensei? What are your thoughts on the early game?”

Oh, now I get it.

“Whoa! Ai, you look like a real journalist!”

“The way you handle the voice recorder so adeptly …… I can hardly believe we are both in the same grade! Ai, you’re almost …… scary!!”

“Ehehe♡”

Journalist Hinatsuru looks satisfied with everyone’s reaction.

That voice recorder sticks out to me, too. She must’ve used it plenty of times before, which would mean …… Is everything I say being recorded …… Every day ……?

“I wanna try being a journalist, too! Kuzuryu-sensei, who do you think’ll win?!” Mio pipes up.

“Please, allow me to practice as well!” Now Ayano joins in.

“Cha, too! Cha wants to intewview Masta!”

Pulling a lollipop out of her pocket and pointing it at me like a microphone, even Charlette is getting into this journalist thing.

Surrounded by the Grade Schooler Practice Group for an interview. This is new.

“Well …… Miss Yashajin is following a Normal Bishop Exchange standard, which is unusual for her. The defender must find a way to go on offense at some point, so I think Miss Yashajin has a secret strategy up her sleeve. If it works, then she might be on even footing.”

“Why do you think she decided against using Move-Loss Bishop Exchange, her best strategy?”

“Probably because trying to use it now would be too difficult to pull off. I don’t want to get too technical, but with how far her Normal Bishop Exchange has come along, there’s no merit to using a Move-Loss strategy anymore.”

“Yes, I see ……! Thank you!!”

With Ai done, Ayano steps forward to ask me a question.

“What were your impressions of the players this morning?”

“Big …… Sora-Queen was just as calm as she always is. Today was the first time I’ve seen Challenger Yashajin in a kimono, and I thought it suited her well.”

“Yes, yes, yes! So then, which do you think looks cuter in a kimono?!”

“Huh? I-I can’t just ……”

Mio jumps in, her face beaming. I have no idea what to say.

Which one ……? Good question ……

“Come on, Kuzuryu-sensei. Just between us.”

“Well …… I’m used to seeing Big Sis in a kimono. I’d never seen Ai wearing one before, so in the sense of something new, I’d say the challenger …… wins?”

“Ten-chan’s the wiiiiinner!!”

“Kuzuryu-sensei declares the defender is in position to win!!”

“Oh …… So, Master does prefer newer things …… Newer …… In other words, younger ……”

Is it just me, or did the topic take a strange turn?

“No doubt about it, the Ryuo’s a loli-con ……”

“Sora-Queen is only 15, but he’s moved on from her already ……”

“The guy changes little girls like upgrading to the latest smartphone, that’s Yaichi Kuzuryu ……”

“There’s no news going on, might as well get an article written.”

Mass media is making a move?!

“Hey …… Please stop joking around! People will think it’s true if that stuff shows up in an article! I’m not like that–––.”

“Hey, hey.”

“Hm? What is it, Charlette?”

She tugs my arm until I lean down to her eye level, where she was waiting with the worst possible question at the worst possible time.

“So, Masta? When are you gonna mawwy Cha?”

Chatter ……!

The air in here just took a major turn. A turn for the much, much worse.

“Ch-Charlette? Now’s not the best time to talk about that ……”

“Masta, you pwomised to take Cha as your bwide. When will you? When?”

Journalists start moving en masse, racing for their equipment as if a player were about to throw in the towel.

All to write an article detailing my Lolita complex.

“Just when I thought he’d moved on from Sora-Queen to Miss Yashajin, who would’ve thought he was already engaged to that little tyke!”

“She’s just a li’l thing!”

“Ryuo, Engaged to Blonde Loli …… Now, that’s a scoop!”

“This is breaking news! We’re printing extras!!”

Delete them aaaaaaaaaall! Rewrite eveeeeeeeerything!!

“Truly amazing! This is it, the genuine break room atmosphere …… So intense!!”

Ayano, this is no time to be impressed!

“O-Oh, that’s right, everyone! I’m not the one you should be getting information about right now! Focus on Tsutenkaku Tower and New World!! I-I’ll fund you! Here!!”

I take money out of my own wallet and give it to the Grade Schooler Practice Group members while making my suggestion. This probably looks pretty bad from the journalists’ standpoint, but I can’t worry about that right now.

“Why not have lunch while you’re out? You need to mention the food, too!”

“Huh?! Do I need to talk about food and buildings when I’m supposed to be writing about Shogi?”

Ai looks surprised, so I explain it to her.

“Shogi journalists need to set the scene, and that includes the area around the arena. It’s especially true for title matches.”

“Uwhee? Why …… is that?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen all the preparation that goes into hosting a title match because your family owns a Japanese-style inn. The reason they go through all the effort is so that Shogi fans might become future customers. Of course, the love of Shogi is the most important part though.”

Which is exactly why the Shogi world must rise to meet their passion and commitment.

“The quality of the match is also important, but fans are interested in more than just the match itself. That’s where the journalists and Internet blogs come in to follow up.”

Mio points her finger and shouts.

“Now I get it! That’s why the writers always jam the name of the building into their articles, right?!”

“Yes. The written word lasts forever. It’s through that repetition that the names of tons of inns and hotels around the country have become linked with memorable matches.”

Kanagawa Prefecture’s Jinya, Tendou’s Taki no Yu, Niigata Prefecture’s Ryugon, Yamanashi Prefecture’s Tokiwa Hotel, Aichi Prefecture’s Ginpasou which is where Mr. Kagamizu is working as a match recorder right now …… The list goes on and on.

Title matches can only happen because those places work so hard to prepare the perfect arenas.

It’s up to the journalists to pick up that information.

“It’s not every day that Tsutenkaku Tower hosts a match, so fans who’ve been following Shogi for a long time will feel a real blast from the past. Trust me, you need to get as much info about the area around the arena as you can.”

“But …… The match ……”

Ai’s line of sight jumps back and forth between me and the monitor showing the board upstairs.

She was doing the same thing even while interviewing me earlier. I bet she’s afraid to miss anything.

“Ya got nothin’ to worry ’bout, young lass,” says Zaou-sensei from behind the sports section of the newspaper he’s reading in the middle of the room. There’s an analysis board in front of him but the pieces aren’t even lined up yet.

“The thing ’bout the first title match is yer more figurin’ out how to use time rather ’an how to play. This Shogi’s gotta long way to go. Ain’t ’at right, Kousuke?”

“Very true …… I remember my first title match, it felt more like a dream. Had eight hours o’ waitin’ time but ended up usin’ seven of them to calm myself down. The only thought in my head was tryin’ not to mess up too bad on day one ……,” says Master Kiyotaki, reminiscing about the first time he was the Meijin Challenger in a two-day style format.

It feels like such a long time ago, but it hasn’t even been 10 years.

“Yes, it was the same for me. I couldn’t play fast at all during the first match in the Ryuo Title match. Actually, now is about the only time you will be able to get info about the area. You’ll need to be ready to go to the arena at any time once it gets into the late game.”

“…… Okay! I’ll be back in a little while!”

The situation finally making sense to her, Ai leads the other girls out to explore Tsutenkaku and New World.

About an hour after the Grade Schooler Practice Group members left to get writing material.

Management staff brings in the exact same food that the players are eating for lunch and journalists swoop in with their cameras flashing. This happens all the time during title matches.

“The challenger ordered a mixed shokadon lunch set. The Queen’s order was stew udon with kayaku rice.”

“Stew udon?”

The journalists who’ve never heard of it tilt their heads.

“It’s an unusual dish that’s been around in New World for a long time.”

Having eaten it before, I tell them all about it.

“It’s not so much of a stew as a pot-au-feu, but basically it’s simmered meat and vegetables in a salt-based soup with udon noodles. Kind of like Western chicken noodle soup without the chicken.”

“Ohh.”

“Back when we were kids, Big Sis and I used to eat it all the time when we came to Shogi parlors in New World. That sure takes me back …… The first time she ordered it, Big Sis was sure it was some kind of cream stew and started crying when this showed up ……”

“Interesting, interesting.”

The journalists jot down my anecdote from the past and one makes a request.

“Kuzuryu-sensei. Since you’re here, why not add your own comments on their orders?”

“Nice idea!”

“Tell us about the food, Sensei!”

Come again?!

“Y-You want me to comment on their food?! Well …… The challenger’s shokadon is the usual combination of meat and vegetables you’d expect, and the Queen’s stew udon is–––.”

Ever since that manga called Shogi Meshi got made into a TV show, media people have been asking for a lot of information that has nothing to do with the match itself these days.

It’s probably easier for people who don’t know about Shogi to get interested in this stuff. I’m sure there will be an article in the sports section that says Stew Udon Key to Snow White’s Victory! or something like it in the newspaper tomorrow.

The lunch break comes to a close while we are talking and the match gets back underway.

Coming back into the arena first for extra thinking time, Ai makes her move at the exact moment the match recorder says, “It’s time.”

Big Sis, who came back at the last possible second, thinks for a moment before gracefully moving a piece to intercept.

Ai goes into high speed mode once again, making moves in quick succession.

One of the journalists approaches me with another request.

“Can I ask for a comment on the match as well?”

“The defender is being very aggressive.” I answer after checking the blog on my smartphone because the monitor is on the other side of the room.

Ai is on defense, but she seems to be playing with the mindset that she has to take control of the flow.

“Advancing the edge Pawn so early like that, she must be setting up something for later. It does feel like she’s stretching out a little too far, but ……”

Even though the overall balance of her formation feels off, she probably has a specific pattern in mind …… That’s what I thought at the time.

Since the journalists from all sorts of media outlets need a short phrase to sum up as much as possible, they press me for conclusions.

“How about the formations right now?”

“They’re still even. Although, the offender is more at risk of falling behind if she makes a mistake. That’s only natural because the defender has control right now.”

“In other words, the elementary school girl Ai Yashajin has Sora-Queen on the ropes?”

“I-I would say it’s more like …… The Queen is defending too much. Maybe she thinks letting her opponent have control will work to her advantage ……?”

Big Sis is the type of player who maintains a good balance of offense and defense, that is, until the late game when she slices her way to victory.

Ai Yashajin is the opposite, a defensive prodigy who excels in the early game.

But right now, each of them is abandoning their strong points in an attempt to finish each other off. This Shogi is turning into a basic match which is pretty common in big matches like this. Big matches sure don’t create memorable ones.

Nothing is ever set in stone in competition.

There are always so many variables in battle that upsets can happen at any time.

And there’s one extremely important variable in the first match of the Queen Title Match.

The fact that this is the first time these players have played against each other in a league match.

–––Maybe Big Sis is watching her closely because this is the first match, or could it be ……?

“This match ain’t gonna be endin’ anytime soon,” says Zaou-sensei, wiping his fingers on a napkin after finishing a plate of sushi that was delivered to the room.

“Sure looks like it. Plenty of moves have been made, but–––.”

Finally over his hangover now that it’s the afternoon, Master Kiyotaki agrees with him.

Just then, a message pops up on my smartphone.

It’s from Ai.

“We’re coming back to the break room now!”

“Master and I are about to go do commentary at the big board.”

“Okay, we’ll go there!”

Pop, pop, pop. Ai sends pictures along with her messages at a quick tempo. There is one with her with the other girls at the Oushouhi King Piece Monument in front of Tsutenkaku Tower and another next to a massive Billiken Statue outside a kushikatsu kebab restaurant.

Yeah. They’re adorable.

“…… The best dessert out there, pics of happy grade schoolers ……”

My heart warms as if I just had the sweetest piece of grade schooler cake after dinner.

“Akira.”

I get out of my chair and address the woman who’s been quietly sitting in the corner since early this morning.

“We’re going to go do commentary in the reception hall, but what would you like to do? You’re welcome to come with us.”

“………………”

Akira is so focused on Lady Ai’s match that I can’t get her attention no matter how hard I try. It’s like she doesn’t even hear me.

Compared to the wild side that came out at the opening night party last night, she’s been reserved today.

Camera nowhere to be found and never setting foot in the arena, she’s had her eyes glued on the monitor displaying a live feed of Ai at the board and hasn’t said a word.

Nothing more than a statue in every sense of the word, nonstop.

Right now, she’s the only one in the room looking at a monitor.

What’s more, Akira doesn’t have a strong enough Shogi sense to see the meaning behind each move so she’s looking at the player-cam rather than the ceiling-mounted camera feed.

–––That’s got to be like watching a screensaver this early on ……

Even if it weren’t, there’s not much movement in the sport of Shogi.

Her ability to continue watching that feed all this time just goes to show that Akira is truly worried about Ai’s well-being from the bottom of her heart.

Trying to explain what’s happening in the match to someone like that would just be insensitive. Because Akira isn’t curious about who’s going to win. The only thing in her head right now is: I hope Ai wins.

So, I was going to leave her to it and go downstairs, but–––.

“Kuzuryu-sensei.”

Without taking her eyes off the screen, Akira says something for the first time all day.

“May I ask you a question? There’s something that’s bothering me ……”

“What’s wrong, Akira?”

“The match recorder seems to be obsessed with his sleeve.”

“Sleeve?”

Looking at the monitor, it’s true. The match recorder keeps raising the right sleeve of his kimono up to eye level and staring for a few seconds as if trying to figure something out.

I’m sure that the players have noticed by now.

“What’s that match recorder’s deal? Gotta have a word with ’im,” Master says while getting ready to go down to the reception hall, sounding grumpy as he puts on his necktie.

But–––.

“…………?”

Something feels weird to me …… A bit ominous, actually. Something’s been a little off about Ai’s play all day …… Like a piece of the puzzle is missing.

–––……… Sleeve ……?

The right sleeve. Right ……

With that in mind, the dots all connect when I see the analysis board.

“Agh!! It-it couldn’t be ……?!”

I couldn’t process the discovery right away even after noticing because that’s just how unthinkable it was.

I glance over at the ceiling camera feed.

Comparing what’s on that screen to what’s on the analysis board–––I finally understand what the match recorder is trying to convey.

“That’s it!!”

“Wh-What’s it, Yaichi?!”

“The Lance!”

I point at the top left corner of the screen …… To where the defender’s piece stand is displayed and yell.

Everyone in the room shouts in surprise.

A moment later, every single person makes a mad dash for the ceiling camera monitor.

“It-It’s true! The right Lance is missing!”

“How could she not notice that?!”

“Probably concentrating too hard …… It’s her first title match, and don’t forget how young she is ……”

The Lance that should be on the board, isn’t.

And the Lance that shouldn’t be on Ai’s piece stand is.

“But, why?!” yells Master, turning blue in the face.

“This is just a guess, but I think her kimono’s sleeve knocked it off the board and onto her piece stand …… Because, she’s too small ……”

With so many strong emotions coursing through my veins, I couldn’t keep myself from trembling.

“If it’d just fell on the floor, it’d been fine! ’At piece just had to fall on the stand!” says Master, grinding his molars.

This was a mistake, and I regret it so much right now.

“During the inspection, I knew that board was too big, I knew it but ……!”

If I knew this is what was going to happen, I should’ve put my foot down and made them change the board!!

“What ’bout Ginko?! Has she noticed it?!”

–––Of course.

There is no way Big Sis hasn’t seen the abnormality right in front of her.

Wait, more than just noticed …… The way she’s been playing–––!!

I finally understand the real meaning behind her moves.

–––Big Sis isn’t playing defensively. She’s controlling how Ai attacks ……!!

“Please, Ai, see it! You have to notice!!”

I turn and yell at the monitor before I could stop myself.

She can’t hear me, and it would break the rules if she could because it would be like her getting outside help.

Still, I couldn’t help it.

“M-My lady ……,” Akira collapses to the floor, hands shaking as she prays with all her might.

“…………”

The observer, Zaou-sensei starts getting ready. Getting ready for the end of the match.

Shogi is a solitary battle.

I can’t just drop into the arena and say: Your Lance fell off the board. What the match recorder did barely toes the line.

Of course, prayers in the break room aren’t going to affect what happens in the arena.

The moves keep coming at a breakneck speed.

Big Sis defends attack after attack while Ai keeps the pressure coming.

Pressing …… Right into a formation where deploying a Lance would be the perfect move.

“Please, notice ……!”

Everyone in the room prays with everything they have.

Then.

Ai reaches toward her piece stand–––––––––.

The moment I pick that Lance up off my piece stand and snap it down onto the board, I could see the tables turn completely in my direction.

I realized that I was actually in a better position than I thought when I came back during the lunch break and decided right then and there to take advantage of the formations.

And now–––I’ve delivered the decisive blow.

I glance up from the board and have a look at Ginko Sora sitting across from me.

–––Well, what do you think?! You must be in all sorts of pain right now, no?

The girl who hadn’t shown a single speck of emotion no matter what move I made all match is now–––.

“…………”

A completely blank slate who’s staring at the board.

Tsk! No fun at all.

But, no matter how Ginko Sora feels about it, I’m in a position to win. It’s an undeniable fact.

––– I’ve done it …… I can win! I can beat the undefeated Queen!

My heart is beating so hard that it might jump right out of my chest. That beating almost made me miss the mark when I put the Lance down. It’s just barely inside the lines.

I take a deep breath to make sure she doesn’t know about it.

“Heeee …… Haaaa––––– ………”

Letting go of the Lance, I look up toward the heavens.

The match isn’t over yet, but I can feel hot tears building up in my eyes.

Because, I’m one big step closer to making my dream come true.

––– Father, mother …… Now I’ve won the first match. The title will be mine ……!

But, now’s not the time to celebrate. Calm down ……!

Stepping away for a moment to compose myself would be a good idea. Just as I was about to stand up.

The fusuma sliding door opens and the observer steps inside in a full kimono.

“……?”

What’s this about?

Did he come to check on the match?

But …… Why now of all times?

I was about to ask him just that, but Tatsuo Zaou 9-dan speaks at almost exactly the same time.

The observer says.

“Thank you.”

Acting like it’s the obvious conclusion, Ginko Sora says calmly and coldly.

I …… am confused.

“Huh? Wh-Why ……?”

People at the boardside table completely ignore me and start packing up as if the match is truly over. I can hardly believe this.

So, I ask again. Much louder this time.

“Tell me why?! Why did I lose just now?!”

More people start pouring into the arena behind the observer. I jump up, desperately trying to keep them back even though the dam is broken.

“The match is still going on! You’re not allowed in here so get out!!”

“It’s over,” Master answers me.

Coming inside the arena after the swarm of reporters, my Master has a sour look on his face as he points to a spot on the board and says.

“Ai. That Lance wasn’t on your piece stand.”

“Huuh? What are you talking ……… about …………!!”

I can feel the blood draining from my face.

All the blood that had been coursing through my brain sinks into my feet in a single heartbeat …… And I plop back down onto my cushion.

Though, I wouldn’t realize it for a while yet.

“…… Your sleeve knocked it off the board when you reached onto the other side. It fell onto your piece stand …… I’m sorry.”

There’s anguish in my Master’s voice.

But it’s only him and Grand Master who seem to feel that way …… All the reporters and staff are staring at me like how could you not notice something like that? as they file into the arena to take pictures of the victorious Ginko Sora.

Yes. It’s my fault for not noticing.

It’s the fact that I didn’t notice that I can’t believe.

Me, of all people …… Losing like a complete amateur would ……

“Why …………?”

–––Why, didn’t I notice?

–––Am I …… really that weak?

The corners of my eyes tighten as the pain keeps building and building. No matter how hard I try to hold them back, the hot tears won’t stop.

They’re completely different from the tears that were forming just a few minutes ago.

“A battle of two prodigies ending like this, who would’ve guessed?”

“Breakin’ a rule like that in the Queen Title Match?! Does that actually happen?!”

“It’s happened once before as far as I know …… About 10 years ago.”

The reporters are excitedly discussing the events as if they found a good story, and Grand Master is trying to explain it as delicately as possible.

It’s like watching a parent apologizing for all the trouble their child has caused, and every second of it feels like a knife twisting in my heart.

–––Losing this way …… What should I say to father and mother ……?

I know of a match where the player lost because they used a piece that fell off the board.

It was in an old Women’s League match that was at such a low level of play I could barely put up with looking at it.

But, even that match lasted to a climactic finish in the late game. This one only made it to mid-game posturing …… A mistake even worse than the one I laughed at, a rule violation so embarrassing I want to curl up and die ……

“Sora-Queen …… That was an interesting match.”

A reporter apologetically sits down next to the board and begins interviewing today’s victor.

“If I may ask a rather difficult question …… Did you know that Miss Yashajin’s Lance had fallen onto her piece stand?”

“Yes, I knew.”

“Did you ever consider pointing it out to her?”

“This is competition. Though I did not purposely try to make her deploy it. That’s just how the match unfolded.”

–––…… You liar!!

I manage to keep those words back by clenching my jaw so tight my molars creak.

Ginko Sora knew everything. She knew that the piece fell, that I didn’t notice, which is why she knew I would use it …… She even knew I thought I won the moment I set it down.

In so many ways, Ginko Sora outplayed me.

I planned to match her point for point before the match, but she read me like a book and used it against me.

The opening that I saw, the advantage I had, they were all illusions separate from reality.

My desire to win turned into thinking that I should win, which gave me the illusion that I had already won. So much so that I didn’t even question why there was a Lance on my piece stand.

In other words, what I saw was nothing more than a dream.

And that dream ……… turned into a nightmare in the blink of an eye.

But, there’s no waking up from this. I already know that.

I know that whenever something you never, ever want to have happen, happens …… It never goes away.

“She’s fine. On the surface anyway.” I answer with my eyes on my green tea latte. The barista made a heart in the froth.

This thing would be perfect for Instagram. I feel kinda bad about drinking it, but that’s the only thing left to do once the pictures are done …… Like taking the pieces off the board once a Shogi match is over.

“But, I can tell she took a lot of damage.”

“Oh?”

“For the first time ever, she asked me, What did you see in me that convinced you to take me as your apprentice? Point-blank.”

“…… That sounds serious.”

I understand where that question is coming from. Basically, her confidence is shaken and she’s looking for someone else to validate her talent.

But that’s something the normally arrogant Ai Yashajin would never say. That alone proves that her heart is in pieces right now.

“With the way that match ended, Ai Hinatsuru couldn’t finish her article. She missed the deciding moment, too ……”

“Which match will Miss Hinatsuru ultimately be in charge of covering?”

“The third, I think. Zaou-sensei’s explanation about the first pretty much summed everything up and that’s what the papers are using.”

“Not to mention the third match is in Miss Yashajin’s hometown of Kobe.”

“True. But, at this rate ……”

It looks like the third match will be the last one. It’s just as Big Sis predicted.

Sure, a lot of people will come out to support her at her home arena, but having all those people there rooting for you when you’re against the ropes actually piles on a lot of extra pressure.

If she’d like to avoid playing the last match in front of her home crowd, that puts more pressure on the second match and could make her drop two matches in a row if she can’t mentally recover in time.

Long spoon deep in her parfait, the beautiful woman says, “I feel sorry for Miss Hinatsuru, her first assignment as a journalist ending like that. There’s not much time remaining before the third match, the one that counts, is upon us. If you would like, I would be willing to give her a few tips of the trade.”

“That would be great.”

“I’m in charge of blog coverage for an upcoming match, so that would be a perfect opportunity to take her on as an assistant.” With that, she puts on a somewhat sadistic smile and says, “Well, you have nothing to worry about. There are ways to make good articles out of even the most ordinary matches.”

“I’d really prefer it not be an ordinary match, but ……”

“It’s her first title match, and I wouldn’t blame her for being in a bad place mentally after losing the first match to that kind of rule violation. Actually, I’m relieved.”

“Huh?”

“Kobe’s Cinderella is really just a 10-year-old girl.”

The beautiful woman sitting across from me–––the journalist Ms. Mato—finally takes a bite of her parfait after saying that.

“Mmnn~♡” Sure sounds like she’s in a happy place.

We’re sitting in a café in Kyoto.

One of the local magazines hired her to do a parfaits and lattes fit for Instagram café series, so Ms. Mato has been going to tons of up-and-coming new cafés all around the city to get material.

I’m here to help her out with that.

She needs me to sell the perfect for dates angle, so we’ve been taking pictures of us drinking from the same glass using heart-shaped crazy straws, scooping parfaits into each other’s mouths and pretty much anything that young couples who don’t care about public displays of affection would do.

Normally, a professional model would step in and do these things, but–––.

“Are you sure you want me of all people for this?”

“Yes, you, Ryuo.”

And that’s how it is. Maybe they want someone with normal guy looks to make it more relatable for the readers?

But to be honest, this is just an excuse to talk with her.

I’m keeping a promise that I made during the Yamashiro Ouka Title Match a little while ago …… This is the premise, but I have a question to ask her.

“What do you think I should do? There’s almost no time before the second match and I have no idea what pointers to give …… At the very least, I’d like to help her mentally recover enough to put up a fight.”

“Are you asking me …… how to contend with Ginko Sora?”

Ms. Mato’s spoon comes to a sudden stop.

“If only I could acquire that information myself.”

Looking away and voice trailing off, she lets her hair down and stares out the window before continuing.

“…… All women’s players who’ve played against Ginko have collided with that wall.”

“Wall?”

“That wasn’t in reference to her bustline.”

Sure, her chest is basically a wall, but even I can tell she’s not talking about that ……

Machi Kugui drops her Mato journalist persona right before my eyes as she pokes at her own well-endowed chest with an amused grin on her face before taking a serious tone.

“Talent. Effort. Environment. And a natural affinity for the spotlight. Ginko is beyond the standards for Women’s League players in so many facets. The moment you compare yourself to one as extraordinary as her, maintaining a calm mind during battle becomes an impossibility. Balance inevitably crumbles.”

“But you can’t fight without comparing, right? You have to figure out where your opponent has an advantage and how to deal with it to have a chance …… That goes for single matches and especially full series.”

“Logic of a prodigy, that is.”

“Ai Yashajin is a prodigy in her own right. Her talent level isn’t all that different from Big Sis. Actually, I’d say that Ai is better in the early game.”

“Hmm~ …… We seem not to be reading from the same hymn sheets,” says Machi with a forced smile. “Ryuo, you’re too close to Ginko to fully comprehend her greatness.”

“I certainly don’t think so ……”

“Well, when two who know each other so well square off in a series of matches, surely maintaining calm composure will be beyond your ability… no, Ryuo?”

“I’m aware. That’s why, even though I really want to help, I can’t think of anything to do for Ai no matter how hard I try to come up with something on my own ……”

“And that was your reason for coming straight to me as I have fought both Ginko and Ai in the past?”

“No, you’re the third person I’ve asked.”

“Heeh?”

Machi’s eyes curl into half-moons like a sly fox.

“To think you would seek the advice of two others before mine …… Seems I can’t leave you to your own devices, Ryuo,” says Machi as she runs her tongue all the way down the long spoon.

It looks like she’s smiling, but …… This is kind of scary.

“Well then? What advice did these two individuals impart?”

“Nothing really. I always just have them listen as I ramble on.”

“?”

Machi looks confused, like she’s trying to figure out exactly who I was talking to …… I guess she stopped caring at some point because she starts scooping the last bites out of her parfait.

“I must say, Ryuo, you are a cruel one.”

“Come again?”

“Coming to one such as I for advice concerning Ai. Truly harsh.”

“I ………… am sorry about this. I know it’s a bit rude ……”

Machi lost to Ai in the match to decide the challenger. Those wounds are deep and still very fresh.

She might be secretly enjoying the fact that Ai lost.

I’ve felt the same way about people who have beaten me many times before. I can relate to what she’s going through.

I get it, but ……

“Is she that precious to you? That girl.”

“Yes, she’s my apprentice.”

“……………”

Her gaze falling to the table, Machi wolfs down the rest of her parfait.

–––I should’ve known it was too rude to ask ……

It’s just, she’s older than me and we go way back, so I tend to go to her for help.

Then–––.

“Thorn Princess.”

“Huh?”

Now it’s my turn to be confused.

“The first to face Ginko in battle and the first to collide with that wall. As such, she may possess insight.”

“Ahhh ……!”

I’m almost standing before I realize it.

–––How could I have forgotten about her?

If it’s the Thorn Princess …… Not the way she was back then, but the Thorn Princess she is now, she just might be willing to give Ai some pointers.

“Thank you so much, Machi!”

“You are most welcome, Ryuo.”

She then pokes at my lips with her long spoon and says.

“You can show your gratitude by joining me for another date. Except this time, not for work♡”

That’s become Ai Yashajin’s favorite phrase over the past couple of days and she says it yet again.

Ai Hinatsuru, walking by her side, tries to reason with her.

“T-Ten-chan …… Master already set this up for you, so ……”

“Then he should’ve been looking for someone I could practice with! I have the first move in the next match, which gives me an advantage …… I can’t afford to lose this one ……!”

“Cramming in tons of practice matches at this point wouldn’t make much difference.”

Walking ahead of them, I look over my shoulder and say, “How many matches do you think you can squeeze in before the second match? Surely you know your skills won’t get all that much better so quickly just playing matches.”

“…… Then what am I supposed to do? Are you saying there’s a way to improve without playing?”

“Yes.”

“……?!”

“Probably.”

“What?! Are you trying to tease me?!”

“I’m not sure myself, okay? That’s why we’re going to ask.”

People try to recover lost confidence by sharpening their skills, researching day and night, playing practice matches and so on.

But they’re just running away.

I learned that firsthand during my Ryuo Title Match against the Meijin.

When facing an opponent you think you could never defeat, the first thing you have to do is get to the point mentally where you realize there is no such thing as never.

“So, um …… Master? The person we’re going to meet today, was she the most recent Women’s Throne challenger?”

Sensing things are getting awkward, Ai Hinatsuru jumps into the conversation.

“Yes. She’s the most recent Women’s League player to face off against Big Sis. What’s more, she’s such a strong player that she had her on the ropes, too.”

“Then, does she know Sora-sensei’s weaknesses?”

“No. What makes her truly impressive is that she got to a title match right after giving birth and taking care of her oldest kid at the same time. She’s actually better now than she was before she had kids despite losing all that research time to take care of them. That’s what’s amazing. Sure, her husband is a pro Shogi player, too, but–––.”

“They’re husband and wife, and both Shogi players?! She’ll know all sorts of things!!”

“Y-Yeah …… Don’t you think? You can learn a lot from her.”

“Yes! I’ll ask everything I can think of!!”

S-She’s gung-ho …… Ai Hinatsuru’s really determined to become a better Shogi player!

But Ai Yashajin is not taking the bait. This could be a problem.

“Big Sis is getting stronger, too. Her getting into the 3-dan division proves it. But I can tell just by watching that the gap separating her and Big Sis is much smaller than before.”

“Humph,” says Ai Yashajin, swishing her black hair over her shoulder before flatly saying, “She still lost.”

“That she did. Along with every other Women’s League player that Big Sis has ever faced.”

Ever since appearing on the Women’s Shogi scene at the age of 11, Big Sis has never lost to a member of the Women’s League.

Five years undefeated: 55 matches and 55 victories. Not a single stalemate or Repetition Draw either.

Yeah, Big Sis is truly a monster.

The very first title holder that that monster tore to shreds is the one who we’re about to see today.

“She was the first person to be bestowed Queen the year the Queen Title Match was created. After that, she claimed the Women’s Throne title and was well on her way to taking the top spot in Women’s Shogi away from Rina Shakando only to have a grade school girl take both titles away from her.”

In other words, you can call her Big Sis’s first victim.

“Her playing style back then was based on getting rid of wasted moves and personifying efficiency. I doubt she ever did a single review session. Everything had to have some positive effect on her Shogi, going as far as isolating herself from other people as much as possible in her daily life. The nickname people gave her was–––.”

“Thorn Princess,” Ai Yashajin answers.

Sounding surprised, Ai Hinatsuru asks, “Do you know her, Ten-chan?”

“…… More or less.”

My second apprentice seems to be implying something as she continues with a nod.

“Actually, I’m shocked that you’ve never heard of her.”

“Don’t be too hard on her. Ai has only been a part of the Shogi world for a year now. After two pregnancies and taking care of those kids, the Thorn Princess has taken a lot of time off over the past few years. She hasn’t been around long enough to know about her.”

Honestly, it’s more surprising to me that Ai Yashajin knows about the Thorn Princess.

Her nickname used to show up in Shogi magazines all the time way back when… but almost no one calls her that anymore.

And why is that?

Because more than just her playing style and personality, her overall look has changed quite a bit.

The Thorn Princess who looked like actual royalty when she was bestowed the first Queen title has become–––.

“Oh, and who have we here?! What cute apprentices!! Oh my, oh my, oh my!!”

Northern Osaka. At an apartment complex in front of a spacious park just a few minutes’ walk from Senri-Chuo Station.

I ring the doorbell outside of a room, and a slightly chubby beauty of woman flies out of the front door with a baby in her arms.

“It has been a long time, Ms. Hanadachi. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today to–––.”

“Hey now, Yaichi. There’s no need for all the formalities. I’ve been so busy with my little ones that I’m dying for some real conversation. Guests are always welcome, always!”

Azami Hanadachi Women’s League 5-dan.

She was originally called the Thorn Princess because her home prefecture, Ibaraki, has ibara, which means thorn, in its name, but she moved to Osaka after her first daughter was born to be closer to her husband’s family in Kansai. She transferred her registration to the Kansai Shogi Association as well.

She took a long leave of absence to take care of her baby, but suddenly returned to the Shogi world while pregnant with her second.

What really shocked everyone was that she went on a tear and got all the way to a title match her first season back.

No matter how much she explained that she was in a stable stage of her pregnancy, one look at her bulging baby bump put everyone on edge, thinking she might go into labor in the middle of the match.

“I still can’t believe that that little Yaichi is already at the age to be taking apprentices …… And already making them both into Women’s League members. I must really be getting old.”

“You’re in your twenties, Ms. Hanadachi. You’re still very young.”

“Oh, wow! You even know how to flatter a lady!”

“Argh?!”

Smack! She hits my back so hard I tumble forward.

Maybe it’s because she’s put on a bit of weight, but how in the world is she that strong ……? She used to be so skinny and not care about other people at all, but now she’s downright chatty and has become an Osakan mom through and through. I guess having kids changes everything ……

We follow her into the living room and find a little girl who must be about two years old sitting on the floor.

“Sakura. Big brother Yaichi is here.”

The toddler tosses the toy she was holding to the side, climbs to her feet, and waddles her way over to me.

“Yaachi♡ Yaachi♡”

“Nice to see you again, Sakura. You’re bigger than I remember.”

I haven’t seen Ms. Hanadachi’s oldest daughter Sakura since she was in the break room during the last Women’s Throne Title Match.

Looking just like her mother, she’s a beautiful little girl.

“It’s been quite a while, but it looks like she remembers me.”

“I always have your matches hooked up to the TV through the Internet, Yaichi. She can watch you for a long, long time happily squealing Yaachi♡ without getting bored. You have no idea how much that helps.”

“Oh, I gotcha. When kids grow up in a house where both parents are pro Shogi players, they get hooked on match coverage before kids shows ……”

“She doesn’t understand the rules yet, though. Now then–––.”

Setting the baby down in a crib, Ms. Hanadachi turns to face us before sitting on her ankles and properly introducing herself to my apprentices.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Women’s League player Azami Hanadachi of the Hiroshi Muroga Shogi family.”

The one who plops down on her ankles and introduces herself right away is–––.

“Kuzuryu Shogi family, first apprentice Ai Hinatsuru! I was told you have many important things to teach me and I can’t wait!”

“What’s this? Won’t you get bored listening to an old lady like me?”

“No, not at all! I would love to hear how you and your husband met, how he proposed and what it’s like living as a professional Shogi couple!!”

“Are you sure? Yaichi told me that you wanted some tips on doing Shogi research ……”

“Keep it to Shogi, please. Just Shogi …… Ai, introduce yourself.”

While my first apprentice’s sudden enthusiasm throws me for a loop, I instruct my second apprentice to greet our host.

“…… Ai. Ai Yashajin.”

“How nice to meet you! Teeheehee.”

Ms. Hanadachi seems to find Ai Yashajin’s grumbled greeting to be entertaining.

“Cwass fwowew bud, Sakuwa Hanadachi ……”

The vibe was getting pretty tense until Sakura imitates their self-introductions by adding her preschool class instead of a Master: flower bud by the sound of it.

Sakura clings to me as her mother asks.

“Yaichi, you like kids, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

Ai Hinatsuru interrupts in a slightly cold tone before I can say anything, “As far as Master is concerned, the smaller the better. Isn’t that right, Ten-chan?”

“Yes. They’re his favorites.”

Oh, come on ……

“Y-You’re going to give her the wrong impression! Actually, I’m into older girls, so don’t make her think toddlers do anything for–––.”

“…… Yaachi, yew don’t like Saa?”

“No, no, no! Of course I like you, Sakura–––Sure do!” I say to the little girl on the verge of tears and give her a hug.

“Saa woves Yaachi♡.”

Then, she pats her hands against my cheeks. Now, that’s cute♡.

But.

“…… Master? I’ll call the police on you for being a loli-con if you keep ogling at the baby ……”

“…… Is she the real reason you wanted to come here in the first place?”

My two apprentices are glaring ice daggers at me …… Ouch!!

On the other hand, the Thorn Princess says, without any prickle at all, “Why don’t you take her out to the park and play? We’ll have our own Women’s League players–only teatime, okay?”

With that, I get chased out of the room.

Once Yaichi had been ushered out of the apartment, Azami turned to face Ai Hinatsuru and Ai Yashajin once again.

“How much do you know about me?”

“That you’re the first Queen and a Women’s League player who lost her titles to Ginko Sora,” said Ai Yashajin with a sneer.

But Azami simply smiled and nodded.

“All true. How about my match records?”

“I …… I’m sorry. There wasn’t much time, so I only looked through the most recent Women’s Throne Title Match. I thought they were all interesting matches, though!” Ai Hinatsuru answered honestly.

“How nice of you to say! How about my older records?”

“The ones where you claimed the Queen title were good,” said Ai Yashajin as she looked away. “However, the records after that aren’t worth the time to line up. The ones after you lost the titles to Ginko Sora are trash, not worth the paper they’re written on.”

“You say exactly what you mean, don’t you? Well, that makes things a lot easier.”

Ai Hinatsuru looked back and forth at them, completely lost as she studied their expressions.

Azami stood back up and started making tea.

“There are pictures of me from back then. Back when I was called the Thorn Princess …… Though, they’re still painful for me to look at.”

Along with the tea and pieces of cake, Azami brought out two Shogi magazines from a few years ago for the girls to see.

The first one had a picture of Ginko Sora right after she first entered junior high school on the cover. Ai Hinatsuru casually glanced over it before turning the page.

When suddenly, her eyes shot wide open.

“……!! Y-You’re ……”

What she found–––was an Azami Hanadachi with absolutely no resemblance to the woman in front of her right now.

Ai Yashajin was equally stunned.

“Y-You …… You look, just …… just like ……!”

“Gin …… ko …… Sora.”

The young Yashajin swallowed hard as she struggled to say the name.

“…… Only recently have I been able to look at these pictures without getting angry.”

The magazines contained pictures from two eras of her life: when she first became Queen and after she lost to Ginko.

Comparing her to very different selves, Azami continued, “You see, I thought I wanted to be Ginko. So young and pretty, and her Shogi was incredibly strong and stoic …… Who wouldn’t want to be exactly like her?”

“B-But …… That doesn’t mean you should change how you look, too ……”

Flabbergasted, Ai Hinatsuru couldn’t comprehend why Azami went to such lengths.

“At first, I just wanted to know what kind of environment she was in and copy her research methods. But, that alone wasn’t anywhere near enough to win.”

The Azami Hanadachi staring back at them in the magazine became thinner and thinner with each turn of the page.

Azami Hanadachi, losing color to the point where she almost looked sick.

Seeing her hair turn pale, changing the color of her eyes with colored contacts and even wearing a sailor-style school uniform was utterly bizarre.

Then they found a picture from an opening night party before the title match.

Two Who Look Like Sisters.

That was the magazine’s caption.

The lack of any other explanation drove home just how outlandish the situation was.

“…… Disgusting.”

Ai Yashajin spat as she took her eyes off the photo.

“…………”

Even Ai Hinatsuru was too shaken to say anything at all.

“The shock of losing both of my titles to an opponent much younger than myself, Ginko merely 12 at the time, sent my life into a tailspin,” said the woman who at one point tried to become Ginko Sora.

“The moment I heard that she was doing practice sessions with Kansai professionals, I went to Kansai professionals to ask for practice sessions. I shut everyone and everything out of my life, to the extent that I wouldn’t eat or drink anything in order to do Shogi research 24/7 once I heard that she was a live-in apprentice who was constantly in that environment.”

Azami also attempted to follow Ginko into the Sub League, but that was where her Master drew the line and stepped in to stop her.

If her intention had been to become a member of the professional ranks, her Master would have given her his blessing. However, she literally wanted to be Ginko Sora.

“But it was no use. I couldn’t become Ginko no matter how hard I tried. Burning the candle at both ends for so long took its toll, my body couldn’t keep up and my spirit was completely broken …… She kept pulling further and further ahead of me.”

Opening one of the magazines to a specific page for her guests, Azami showed the girls a picture of the Thorn Princess who was little more than skin and bone.

The person in that photograph was not Ginko Sora nor even Azami Hanadachi ……

Looking at the skinny ogre she had once been with pity, Azami continued in a hushed voice, “The one who stopped me from falling apart was one of the Kansai professionals I was practicing with …… and who is now my husband.”

It was the man who had been watching her more closely than any other who reawakened the Thorn Princess.

“Do you know what he said? He said he loved me, the broken me. The me that had forgotten who I was and couldn’t become Ginko Sora. But more than that, he said this…”

Azami’s eyes lit up as if she were remembering the exact moment.

“Even if you didn’t play Shogi, I know I would’ve fallen for you……”

Ai Yashajin quietly listened to those words.

“Beautiful ……”

Tears built up in Ai Hinatsuru’s eyes as that word escaped her lips.

“Shogi was all I had. I was certain that without it, I would be nothing. If I got weaker …… If I lost my titles, I was certain I would lose my worth as a human being.”

Azami didn’t stop there.

“But he said he would still love me without Shogi. That’s why I married him. I didn’t think twice. After that instantaneous yes, I was finally free from the curse …… The curse of wanting to be Ginko Sora.” Eyes sparkling and a small quiver in her voice, the Thorn Princess added, “That was the first time in my life I’d ever cried for anything other than losing a Shogi match ……”

That’s when the baby in the crib started crying out for her mother, and Azami donned a motherly smile as she held her youngest child.

Waiting until the infant had calmed down, Ai Yashajin posed the question.

“…… And? You got pregnant and ran away from Shogi as soon as you could?”

“Why, no. I may not have been able to become Ginko, but I still needed to win against her. Just this time not for myself, but for the man who loves me. That has become what drives me as a Women’s League player,” said Azami with vigor as she held the baby in her arms. “However, I didn’t want having children to be the reason my skills declined. I don’t want them to grow up only to find out that they’re the reason my career came to an end. That’s why I wanted to be stronger. I wanted others to think of me and say, She’s better now, as a mother, than she was before.”

The two girls watched as Azami’s face transformed from a loving mother into a Shogi player right before their eyes.

“I was desperate to find the answer. Doing what Ginko does would never work. Even if I did copy her methods, I would never catch up and I didn’t have the time anyway.”

“Then …… How did you do it?” asked Ai Yashajin, showing genuine interest for the first time.

“Efficiently using time was a must. Even while breastfeeding, I was mentally running through sequences one after another. So long as you have a smartphone and a head that can think, you can do Shogi research absolutely anywhere these days. The other thing I did was start relearning standards from square one. I revamped everything from how I practiced all the way to how I chose my offensive formations.”

“……”

Falling silent, Ai Yashajin folded her arms across her chest.

“I noticed a considerable drop off in thinking and recognition speed while I was pregnant. Then again, that could’ve just been me losing my edge because I wasn’t playing in nearly as many matches as I used to …… I don’t know for sure. But, one thing I do know is that my first instincts didn’t miss a beat.”

Azami chose her words carefully as she went on.

“That’s why I focused heavily on playing quickly and taking control of the flow during the Women’s Throne Title Match. I’m usually more of a defensive player, but I decided not to play that style while I was pregnant.”

“You played with your gut feeling ……? Is that right?” asked a curious Ai Hinatsuru.

“Yes, Ai, that’s right. Though I wish I could do what you do in the late game.”

Take control of the match, play quickly and pressure the opponent into making mistakes to save waiting time.

Azami’s strategy was to build a lead while avoiding major confrontations to overwhelm her opponent.

“Th-That’s amazing! The picture-perfect way to win!”

“Would you stop being impressed by every little thing?”

Ai Hinatsuru’s eyes were sparkling with admiration, but Ai Yashajin balked at the idea.

“Besides, what use would I have for advice during pregnancy in the first place?”

“Very useful, Ten-chan! Babies are a blessing!! We must always be ready to have one just in case.”

“Huuuh? I’m still 10 years old.”

“Exactly.”

Ai Hinatsuru’s face had and? written all over it. She wasn’t understanding the point. The look in her eyes made it seem like she thought she could be a mother any day now.

It was that look that sent a jolt up the Thorn Princess’s spine.

“A-Ai ……? I thought you were a normal little girl, but …… It seems the rumors are true ……”

“Uwhee?”

Ai tilted her head, confused.

Ai Yashajin mumbled, “She’s always like this,” with a nod.

Forcing herself to smile, Azami said, “N-Now I get it …… This is Ai Hinatsuru, the genius ……”

Still confused, Ai Hinatsuru tilts her head the other way.

“Anyway ……”

Getting the conversation back on topic, Ai Yashajin clears her throat.

“I understand how you fought against Ginko Sora. I’m sure it was a hard fight. However, you lost in the end, didn’t you? Sorry, but I’m going to win my own way.”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve always wondered whether relying on instincts when you play leads to improving or not. The way to win right now is not necessarily the way to become a stronger player. Trust me, I would’ve loved to do my own thorough research if I had had the time.”

Azami glanced in Ai Hinatsuru’s direction.

“Miss Hinatsuru might be able to, but I don’t think you’ll get any stronger by relying on your intuition, Ai.”

“!! …… Are you saying she’s more talented than me?”

Ai Yashajin demanded an explanation as she pointed at her older sister apprentice, but Azami just smiled at her. Her silence was as good as affirmation.

Blood boiling, Ai Yashajin’s hair stood on end as she yelled, “If you’re so good, why don’t you tell me a way to beat Ginko Sora right here and now!”

“Love.”

“What?”

“Loving someone else. Falling in love. That’s the way I found to win.”

“……………………”

The young Yashajin’s face went blank as Azami went into further detail.

“Love has no limits. It won’t weigh you down and it doesn’t take up any room. Yet the more you have, the stronger you become. That’s especially true for girls. Girls in love become much stronger.” Then, almost teasingly, she adds, “The reason why Ginko is stronger than you might just be …… that Ginko is in love.”

“H-Hardly! A girl with that much ice in her veins …… Besides, I’m not the least bit interested in romance! It has nothing to do with Shogi!!”

“I see. You’re still too young to understand.”

“……… Look at you, up on your pedestal ……”

Ai Yashajin ground her molars in frustration, being told that she wouldn’t understand.

Looking down at the Shogi magazines open on the table, the Thorn Princess commented, “As far as Ginko was concerned, I wouldn’t have been much of a challenge for her before I got married. I mean, I was using the same strategies but couldn’t read the board as far as she could.”

“……!!”

“Once I got married, however, I thought through everything myself. Coming up with things from my own experiences that she’d never think of herself became my best weapon. Sitting across the board from her, I could tell …… I could see hesitation in her moves, panic in her eyes. That was a first.”

Strategies fade in and out within the Shogi world very quickly. When someone has success with a particular style, everyone else starts using it overnight.

By the same token, top players’ research methods spread like wildfire.

After all, a player’s Shogi skills are bound to improve if they use the same strategies and methods the best players are using.

At the end of the day, however, they never compare to the original.

“…………”

Heart-wrenching! Ai Yashajin bit down on her lips to endure the pain.

Unable to come up with a logical counter to Azami’s claim… she settled on this: “…… But you lost.”

“I did. I lost,” the mother once known as Thorn Princess said with a sincere nod. “But you know what? I’m playing better Shogi now than I was before!”

A radiant, healthy smile graced her lips.

Then, the Thorn Princess imparted a kind word of advice to the lost Cinderella.

“Find your way. Find a way to win that is uniquely yours.”

With that, Azami Hanadachi reworded her message and said it again.

“A love that is uniquely yours.”

I leave the Thorn Princess’s apartment to go find my Master, but all the built-up frustration bursts out as soon as I leave the room.

This is beyond irritating!!

“She’s nothing more than some old lady who got married, had children and her brain magically turned into a happy little flower garden! That was a total waste of time! Talking on forever like she knows everything only to have her say that love and romance are the key …… Just thinking about it makes me angry!!”

I kick the concrete wall a few times for good measure. Kicked the thing hard enough to indent the toe of my shoe, too.

How was there a time I actually admired that flowers-for-brains woman ……!

“Shogi is an all or nothing battle!! Obviously, both sides are going to leave with scars! Wasting time licking another loser’s wounds is ridiculous! How could that ever help me get stronger?!!”

What infuriates me beyond all else is that, for one fleeting moment, I thought I might get some useful advice from the Thorn Princess.

That was naïve. My heart was weak.

“What it all comes down to is that I’m the only one I can count on! Just as she said, I’m going to believe in my own research. I’ll hit Ginko Sora with all the advancements I’ve made using my father’s pieces …… My latest Bishop Exchange strategy!”

“………… I …………”

She’d been quiet up to this point, but Ai Hinatsuru hesitantly starts speaking.

“I think …… I can relate to what Hanadachi-sensei said, at least a little bit.”

“Huuh?! Like what?”

“Well, I started playing Shogi because I wanted to be like Master …… And, as I entered the Practice League and then the Women’s League, I became a little stronger every time I admired someone new or made an important friend ……”

“………”

“I play my best when I want to be with someone special to me or when I want to do something for them.”

If I remember right, she wanted to be Yaichi’s live-in apprentice so bad that she showed ferocious potential when she fought against Ginko Sora during the Practice League Entrance Test.

And, her getting through the Mynavi Preliminaries was all to let Yaichi concentrate on the defending his title as the Ryuo.

“Ten-chan, don’t you have any special people in your heart? People you want to win for, or get stronger just for them?”

“……… No. No one.”

“I see …… You don’t have anyone like that …………………… Ehehe♡”

“…… Excuse me. What are you so happy about?”

I just can’t figure it out, and that’s starting to irritate me, too ……

“B-But …… Ten-chan ………… If you liked him ……… I wouldn’t stand a chance ……”

Tearing up, Ai Hinatsuru opens her heart to me.

“Your family is so rich that you live just like a real princess, and you’re so cute now that you’re going to be truly beautiful once you grow up and you have so much more Shogi talent than I do ……… Any boy would obviously choose you over me …… Sniffle ……”

“You know something ……”

I’m so done with this. Besides, what is she even worried about?

“I don’t know what you’re so worked up about, nor do I care …… But this I can guarantee: I will never fall in love with anyone. I have no interest in challenging you or that tiny blonde doofus to become that idiot’s favorite. Romance is just pointless.”

“I-I never said anything about Master!!”

“Neither did I.”

“!! ………… Ten-chan, you meanie ……”

She’s turning red and twiddling her thumbs.

Finally calm, I straighten out my hair and say, “Though……”

Then, pointing to the sandbox in the park.

“You certainly have strange tastes. What is so good about that? Other than his strong Shogi, that is.”

“Uwheee ……?”

In that sandbox–––is Yaichi, only wearing underwear, and the Thorn Princess’s daughter buried all the way up to her neck pouring buckets of dry sand over their heads.

“M-Master?! This is a public park! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“This? Well, Sakura said she wanted to play bath time, so …… we made a sand bath ……”

“Saa, Yaachi, bath time♡”

“I’ve never heard of something so far-fetched as a sand bath!! Why do you always do whatever little girls ask you to without thinking, Master?!”

Watching the fireworks from a distance, I whispered under my breath.

“…………… Not happening. Ever.”

The second Queen Title Match is on the north coast.

I had a historic battle of my own right here just six months ago.

Just like back then, I rode the Thunderbird Express train from Osaka all the way up here only to be greeted by the woman who runs this inn.

“We have been waiting for you.”

A voice I’ve heard many times before, courteous and yet full of overwhelming pride, says hello.

That’s right.

The second match will take place at one of the top onsen hot spring spa inns in Japan–––the Hinatsuru.

Since I have the strongest connection to this place out of our group, I take it on myself to speak for everyone and say.

“It is nice to see you again. Thank you so much for agreeing to accommodate our demanding schedule.”

“It’s what anyone would have done.”

The owner––Ai Hinatsuru’s mother—answers with pride.

“The Kuzuryu Shogi family has graciously accepted my daughter, making us as good as in-laws. Therefore, there is no more fitting location for this title match than the Hinatsuru Inn. Please, do make yourselves at home and play to the best of your Shogi abilities.”

Mrs. Hinatsuru turns to face the stars of the match, Ai Yashajin and Big Sis, and politely lowers her head.

“……”

Both of them bow but don’t say a word. Neither side feels like trying to be friendly, so they keep smiling but don’t bother thanking Mrs. Hinatsuru themselves.

Picking up on the awkward vibes, I push the conversation along.

“Thank you. Unfortunately, Ai couldn’t make the trip with us ……”

“That is no problem at all. We came to a family decision that the only time Ai will spend a night within these walls will be for her own title matches. Her father and I have decided to wait patiently until then to see her in person.”

“You did? But, Mr. Hinatsuru was in Osaka just a few weeks ago and saw her ……”

“Yes. My husband is presently in the basement, reflecting on his broken promise. He will therefore be unable to meet you at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

…… Basement?

I’m beyond curious but thinking about what could be down there scares me too much to ask. Maybe a gaming arcade? (Playing stupid.)

“Everyone. I know you’re tired after your long journey, but if you would please accompany me for the inspection and a press conference before you retire. Many media outlets have already sent representatives and are waiting to conduct a photo session,” says Mrs. Hinatsuru as she guides our group into the building.

“…… She’s a pro at this.”

“…… Our Shogi family ‘n the association got a valuable friend in her. Countin’ on ya, Yaichi. All jokin’ aside, the future of Shogi as a whole is restin’ on yar shoulders,” says Master Kiyotaki with all seriousness. He’s along with us because he was chosen to do analysis for the match.

That’s just his way of telling me to make Ai Hinatsuru into women’s title holder, for sure.

“…… Of course. I’m already putting pieces in place to make that happen.”

“…… Uhh, I don’ know ‘bout puttin’ piece in place, but too soon’d be a crime, yeah? Wait on that …… ’Kay?”

“……?”

Master and I go back and forth in hushed voices as we follow Mrs. Hinatsuru down the hall.

“We have arrived.”

What is this, like an auditorium? I take one step inside and see–––.

“Whoa?! Wh-What is this place?!”

A room that goes beyond my wildest dreams opens up before me.

Mrs. Hinatsuru starts explaining as I stand there with my mouth wide open in pure amazement.

“This here? But of course, our Shogi Museum.”

Hold on just a second.

“This isn’t Shogi so much as ……”

An Ai Hinatsuru museum.

Pictures of her right after she was born all the way up to now, the Shogi puzzles she secretly worked on while helping out around the inn, the original Women’s League entrance certificate that she and I signed, even the pens themselves are in their own custom glass cases. That certificate is supposed to be on file at the association, so what’s it doing out here ……?

“…………”

All the media people who’ve joined us look like they were just ushered into some foreign country’s art museum and are huddling together for safety.

But it’s a display in the middle of the room that really draws attention with its overwhelming presence.

“Women’s League Certification Ceremony.”

It’s a photo of Ai in a white kimono and me wearing a family crest blown up to a massive scale and hanging on the wall.

And, put up like an afterthought right next to it, is a picture of me playing against the Meijin as well as the pieces we used for that match.

“…… Just what were you doing during that pivotal match in the Ryuo Title defense ……? You’re so ……”

The only member of the Kiyotaki Shogi family tree not to be there that day, Ai Yashajin sounds completely revolted. Yeah, I bet she is ……

Which reminds me, the other person not on that trip, Akira, is also absent for this one.

As was the case with the Mynavi Preliminaries, Ai Yashajin doesn’t like having people she knows well around during big matches.

Akira sent me a short message saying kintsuba, and I responded with K. I’m sure she wants me to get her some of those bean pastries Kanazawa is known for. The inn’s gift shop has them, no doubt.

As for Big Sis, she does a quick loop through the displays before looking me square in the eyes.

“……………… Tsk.”

Did she just snap her tongue at me?

It’s underway …… but, um ……

“…… How are we supposed to do interviews like this ……?”

“…… No kidding. Can’t even get a yes or no out of them no matter what we ask ……”

“…… It’s like their faces are glued in place ……”

The players are so uptight that even the journalists and cameramen are whispering among themselves.

After letting her guard down and losing due to a rule violation in the first match, I can understand why Ai Yashajin is sitting straight up and keeping her face as serious as possible: so she doesn’t show any weakness.

What I don’t get is why Big Sis, who always smiles and interacts with journalists as is expected of her as a title holder during these press conferences, looks like she’s about to rip someone’s head off. This never happens.

“Has she recognized Ai Yashajin’s talent ……?”

However, this level of hostility is a nightmare from a public relations standpoint.

Looking for something, anything to break the ice, one cameraman makes a request.

“Excuse me, miss …… You’re the match recorder, correct? Would you join them in the photograph? Please!”

“No. I’m still in training, so–––.”

The girl looking to find an excuse to turn down the journalist is also wearing a school uniform like Big Sis.

Except hers is a high school uniform.

If I remember right …… Karen Noboryou Sub League 1-kyu.

Her tanned skin gives her this beautiful, healthy aura.

She’s currently a second-year high school student where she lives in Hachijyo Jima Island. I don’t know her that well at all because she is registered with the Kanto Association, but Ai Yashajin defeated her in the Mynavi Finals.

She was ranked at 2-kyu at the time, but beating her is still really impressive.

“Ohhh, don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud. You only get to wear a school uniform for so long, so it’d be a waste not to show it off,” says a very bubbly woman as Ms. Noboryou froze up at the idea of participating in the photo shoot.

It’s the big board commentator for the second Queen Title Match, Tamayo Rokuroba women’s 2-dan.

“R-Rokuroba-sensei …… I couldn’t!”

“Let’s get everyone together for one big group picture☆”

The whole press conference brightens with Ms. Rokuroba and Ms. Noboryou up there as well.

Both participants in this match live in Kansai.

Since it’s pretty rare for a match like this to take place on the north coast, the association expected there to be tons of fans at the opening night party and to come watch the big board commentary.

Therefore, the association deployed their full arsenal for this battle.

Asking an up-and-coming female Sub League member to work as the match recorder and calling in one of the most popular Women’s League players over here from Tokyo to do the commentary is proof enough of that.

And, the person they got to be the observer for this highly anticipated match is–––.

“Hi, hi! It’s me!!”

Jin Natagiri 8-dan.

The Switch Hitter, who recently secured his position in the A League, bursts into the press conference and looks to be in an extremely good mood.

The choice makes sense, considering this guy is more neutral than the Swiss. He’d never show favoritism among Women’s League players. Men, on the other hand, are a different story.

“So sorry I’m late, Yaichi. It’s been forever since I put on traditional clothes and it took more time than I thought. Sorry.”

“That’s nice.”

“But, they’re great because you can slip out of them in a jiffy!”

“That’s nice.”

I respond the instant he stopped talking and avoid making eye contact at all costs.

Only recently have I figured out how to interact with this guy.

He loves getting reactions out of people, so it’s best to just ignore whatever he says. Do the verbal equivalent of scrolling by something on social media.

“Ahhh, Jin! Thanks fer comin’!”

Unfortunately, Master Kiyotaki doesn’t understand that and walks right into the trap.

“Agreein’ to help out at the last minute …… I’m too grateful fer words. Not only have ya helped out as an instructor at the Kiyotaki Classroom, now yar workin’ as the observer for a match between my apprentice and granddaughter apprentice ……”

“My, my …… There’s no need for all this fuss. We’re friends, aren’t we, Kiyotaki-sensei?” says Mr. Natagiri was a big, friendly smile. “Why, I consider myself a pea in the Kiyotaki Shogi family pod. No matter how abnormal the request, I’d come with bells on!”

“Oh …… Ohhh? Never heard it put like ’at before, but I’m happy ya think so.”

The press conference keeps going as the three of us don’t really pick up on what the others are saying.

It started off dead silent, but now some of the media people are laughing and having a good time.

The one who has made their job substantially easier and brought the whole place to life is Ms. Rokuroba.

Understanding the role that has been thrust upon her, she’s executing it to perfection.

“Tamayo has become so dependable,” remarks Mr. Natagiri, who trained Ms. Rokuroba as his own apprentice. Watching his precious student (?) lighten up the event by wedging her way between the two players giving off nothing but hostile vibes with gentle warmth in his eyes, he adds, “Back when she first came out of Numazu, she would’ve been just as uptight as young Noboryou right about now.”

“I can’t even imagine that now.”

A younger, unsophisticated Ms. Rokuroba …… Actually, I could see it.

Just picturing her not knowing what to do with those glorious boobs that she now wields like weapons during matches, wow ……

“This is the first time for me to meet one Miss Ai Yashajin, and from what I’ve heard, her Shogi skill is only matched by her overwhelming popularity. Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s true. She had record numbers of private sponsors during the preliminaries, so I’d say she has quite a few fans already.”

“You should hear what Tamayo says about that when she’s tipsy. Losing to some little girl in popularity, too? That settles it, I’m an old lady, so would someone please put me out of my misery? It’s a sorry sight.”

“M-Ms. Rokuroba …… Is she holding a grudge ……?”

She used to be the unquestioned number one star of the Women’s League.

Then, when Big Sis showed up on the scene, she became the unquestioned number two.

On the other hand, Big Sis went into the Sub League so she almost never shows up for Shogi events. Ms. Rokuroba still held an overwhelming popularity edge over everyone else until …… Ai Hinatsuru and Ai Yashajin’s appearance knocked her out of the top three overnight.

Her professionalism keeps her smiling and bubbly as ever, but I’m sure she’s got more than a few things she’d love to say.

After all, she doesn’t want to lose at anything, not just Shogi.

That’s just how pro Shogi players are.

“Perk up now, you two☆ Smile, smile! You’re cute already, so play to all those cameras, okay?”

“……………”

Ai stays completely silent while Big Sis glares at her with contempt, but Ms. Rokuroba isn’t fazed at all.

–––She’s a true pro ……

Ms. Rokuroba’s voice could be heard throughout the opening night party that followed the press conference.

The second Queen Title Match began with Ai Yashajin making the first move.

“Hello everyone on the north coast! I’m baaaack–––!!”

Now after lunch, Ms. Rokuroba has the stage to herself as she starts doing commentary at the big board.

She’s wearing a knit dress with no shoulders and an extremely low neckline, which is making all the Shogi fans who made the trip out here very happy. Me? Of course I’m happy. too.

“Tamayon!”

“I love you!! Marry me!!”

“Why, thank you everyone☆ But, sorry. I’m already married to Shogi, so marrying anyone of you ain’t gonna happen!!”

Boom! The whole place explodes with laughter. Only Ms. Rokuroba, with her sharp tongue and no-holds-barred commentary, can get away with teasing the crowd like this.

Both her outfit and comments have been at full throttle since the start of match, reason being–––

From a pro standpoint, the match was already over by the time lunch came around.

The only interesting thing left now is figuring out when Ai will surrender.

Which is why Ms. Rokuroba is so desperate to keep the crowd entertained.

Dropping the Shogi analysis completely, she’s been bringing the observer, Mr. Natagiri, the analyst for the match, Master Kiyotaki and myself up onto the stage for rapid-fire talk sessions and comedy bits. What’s more, she’s been doing this the whole time without leaving the stage.

Signing autographs left and right, I’ve lost count of how many rounds of rock-paper-scissors she’s played with the audience to decide who gets them—the match is moving so slowly we can’t do a Next Move Quiz.

Shaking hands and telling stories about the inner workings of the Women’s League all with a smile on her face, she’s not letting any fans get bored for a moment. She won’t let them regret making the trip out here.

Even male pros can’t get a big board analysis session this revved up. Actually, it might be something only a Women’s League member could pull off because they know how important events like this are. I can tell Ms. Rokuroba got this popular not just because of her Shogi skill and good looks, but also her willingness to please and her strong sense of responsibility. They’re shining through right now.

Seeing her professionalism and willpower with my own eyes, I’m seriously impressed.

When I mention that to her as we stand next to the big board, she says: “No, no, this is the usual.”

Like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Doing big board commentary for one of Ginko’s title matches like this one is a sure-fire snooze fest unless you liven it up yourself.”

“?”

What is she talking about?

Sure, today’s match didn’t turn out so well, but Big Sis is so popular that her being in the match alone brings people in droves ……

Whoops, I’ve got to keep the conversation going. So, I change the topic.

“You have faced Sora-Queen before haven’t you, Ms. Rokuroba? As someone with firsthand experience, what is your impression of the Queen?”

“Hmmm~ …… What’s the best way to put this? If I had to put it into words, it’d be–––.”

“An expression works too.”

“The video game boss whose HP never goes down.”

“…… Huuh?”

“You know, the hit points never go down… the ones that pop up in RPGs? In role-playing games… The boss where you try everything under the sun but can’t beat it? That battle where you think you’re doing damage but the HP bar doesn’t shrink at all?”

“I …… guess so?”

Pro Shogi players tend to love games.

Not just board games, but even regular video games, too. We have a lot of free time, so there’s plenty of time to get really hooked on one. Since we love discovering new things in trial-and-error strategy-type games, there’s a good chance Shogi players will make it into the finals whenever there are public tournaments.

Pros have made appearances on TV networks that broadcast video game content, including Ms. Rokuroba if I remember right.

I was sure that’s where this conversation was heading, but … it goes a heck of a lot deeper than I thought.

“For me? If I’m playing against a Women’s League player, even if she has a title, I’m confident I could get in a few good hits. If it’s a three-match series, I know I can get one off her. That’s what the game of Shogi is, right?”

“Yes, I agree with that.”

“But Ginko is different. No hits connect. It doesn’t even look like she’s taking damage at all. No matter how many special attacks I dish out, they amount to zero damage. What’s worse, all her regular attacks hit for 9,999. She nullifies defensive magic by default. She’s one of those How am I supposed to beat this?–type bosses. The totally broken ones that destroy the game’s balance. That’s what it’s like playing against her.”

“Well, but …… What about Empress Ika Sainokami or ……”

“Ika plays with a hair trigger and I’d say she has talent to contend with the best of them, but a lot more goes into winning than that. Why else do you think her winning percentage isn’t that high? She has zero defense and her HP is low, a glass cannon. Her speed and attack power are through the roof, though.”

“So you’re saying that B- …… Sora-Queen has high defense and HP as well?”

“Even a 15-year-old boy being 3-dan in the Sub League would be thought of as, like, the next powerhouse in the pro ranks, right? That’s why all of us in the Women’s League have given up. Ginko isn’t the same species as us. We lose, but what else do we expect? She should just hurry up and get to the pros.”

Ms. Rokuroba sounds calm, cool and collected.

She’s not trying to get a laugh out of the audience.

It’s more like she’s finally getting something off her chest that’s been there for far too long.

“Watching Ginko play is painful, plain and simple. You get sick of it: sick of how this girl is going to be looking down on us for the rest of our lives. What’s the point of researching anyway? I mean, to devote yourself heart and soul to something and then not be able to leave a scratch? It hurts really bad.”

“…………”

“Look, I’ll be honest here. The Women’s League is stagnant right now. There’s nothing more boring than a match where you know who’s going to win before it starts and no matter how good you play, people are always going to say, But you’re not as good as Ginko Sora, right? The Women’s Shogi world right now is just a game where Ginko Sora wins in the end. That must be boring to watch, am I right?”

Ms. Rokuroba yells to the crowd.

“W-Wait, Ms. Rokuroba! Don’t you think boring is too strong of a–––.”

More than half the people here have to be Big Sis’s fans. We’ll have to face their wrath if we say anything bad about Naniwa’s Snow White……!!

But, it turns out my expectations were completely wrong.

Words fail me. I have to laugh this off. I have to keep the conversation going, but no words are coming out.

I can’t believe it. Aren’t most of these people rooting for Big Sis?

Well, then again ……

It’s true that today’s match was decided by the mid-game. Fans who came here expecting to see a battle for the ages probably would call it boring.

Big Sis made her Women’s Shogi debut back when she was in grade school and has never lost to a Women’s League Player. Even the Meijin’s winning percentage is around 70. His best season ever barely cracked 80. In other words, he was losing once in every five matches. While he has claimed and defended titles in straight runs before, it doesn’t happen very often.

Big Sis–––is 55-0. Not a single loss.

What’s more, almost all of them are perfect wins from start to finish.

Today wasn’t the first time the Shogi match itself was boring. It wasn’t the first time the audience wasn’t entertained by big board analysis alone.

It’s always like this.

Even Big Sis’s most devoted fans are getting tired of watching her win ……

Hold up, hold up! Now’s not the time to be thinking about this. I’ve got to keep the conversation going!

“W-Well, then how about the Queen challenger?! You’ve played against Ai, yes? What do you think of her playing style ……? What impression do you get from her?”

“Miss Yashajin …… How should I put it? It’s, I don’t know …… Interesting?”

“Interesting? Her playing style?”

“She’s cheeky, but her Shogi and her personality aren’t childish at all. Honestly, I hate having such a young girl like her in this league. Still, I end up wanting to know more about her. Her Shogi has something, an it factor. I want to know what it is, which makes me want to play against her as much as I can from here on out.”

Once Ms. Rokuroba finishes that sentence, she brings up someone else who I never considered.

“I’m sure that today’s match recorder, Miss Noboryou, feels the same way.”

“Ms. Noboryou, too ……?”

“I heard that when she lost to Miss Yashajin back in the finals, she turned pale as a ghost and literally couldn’t stand up. But, yeah, a female player in the Sub League losing to a Practice League member would be quite a shock.”

“…… Yes, it would.”

“But, that very same Miss Noboryou asked to work as the match recorder for this Women’s Title Match. I don’t think she’s only here to see Ginko.”

“She asked to work this match?”

“That’s what I’ve heard.”

What a surprise.